


In the Cold Light of Day

by Halzbarry



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anal Sex, Barry Vibrates During Sex, Because I wanted to keep Eddie and Ronnie alive, Bottom Barry, Bottom Leonard Snart, Canon Compliant Up Until Ep. 23, Canon-Typical Violence, Denial of Feelings, Drugs, Eddie Lives, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fingerfucking, Glasses, Hurt/Comfort, Leonard and Barry both wear glasses for their disguise, M/M, Metahumans, Oral Sex, Rimming, Shower Sex, Top Barry Allen, Top Leonard Snart, Undercover, Undercover as a Couple, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-02
Updated: 2016-11-01
Packaged: 2018-05-30 21:14:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 54,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6441031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Halzbarry/pseuds/Halzbarry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>To find and stop the production of a new drug that's turning people into pseudo-meta-humans, Barry has to rely on Leonard Snart for information. When the information leads to a couple's therapy retreat in Keystone, Barry and Len play the role of an estranged couple to infiltrate and find the drug's source. </p><p>Along the way, both Barry and Len attempt to repress the emerging feelings they have for one another, but pretending to be a couple isn't exactly making the situation any easier.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Are you sure he’s in here, Cisco?” Barry asked, standing across from what looked like a run-down warehouse building. Through Cisco’s directions, Barry had ended up in a corner of Central City that he wasn’t really used to being in, but it was one of the few remaining areas that he hadn’t combed yet in search of Leonard Snart and his crew.

“The tracker we fit on one of the jewels Snart stole is giving off a signal here,” Cisco answered. Barry could hear him typing away in the background of the suit’s communication system, and he waited outside the building for Cisco’s confirmation. “Alright, the tracker is still giving off a signal inside this building. Plus the Cold Gun’s thermal imaging trail ends only a few blocks from where you are. I’ll bet you thirty bucks Snart’s inside.”

Barry took a deep breath and mentally prepped himself to storm the building. “Alright, I guess that means I’m going in there then.”

“Barry, are you positive you want Snart’s help with this? I mean, there has to be someone else who has information on the criminal underground,” Caitlin questioned.

Barry huffed and shook his head. No one had wanted to find another suitable source of information more than he did, but with the CCPD at a complete loss he didn’t know where else to start in trying to locate someone with extensive knowledge of the black market here in Central City.

That’s why he needed Snart’s help again.  

“Snart’s the only person we know who can get us the information we need.  Whether any of us like it or not, we need him,” Barry reminded her.

Barry sped across the street into the rundown warehouse, quickly scanning his surroundings as best as he could in the dark environment. Nothing about the building screamed currently lived in, the few pieces of furniture inside worn and the air inside somewhat stagnant.

He took a few steps further into the building, looking around, but still seeing no sign of Snart or his crew at all.

“Any sign of him?” Cisco asked.

“Nothing yet. Is there any way to tell exactly where he is?” Barry asked.

“Umm we got you to the exact building he was in. I don’t think you can get any closer than that,” Cisco scoffed.

Something felt off about the whole thing. Barry was starting to feel almost like—he was being watched by someone. Given that he was in enemy territory it probably wasn’t a good sign. The deeper into the dilapidated building he got his suspicions grew stronger until he was confident he wasn’t alone despite the lack of noise or movement.

“Barry!” he heard Caitlin yell. “Snart’s Cold Gun just came back online in your location!”

Barry didn’t need Caitlin’s warning to hear the all-to-familiar high-pitched noise of the Cold Gun charging up. He moved out of the way, thankful for his inhuman speed as even a second later could’ve ended with him taking a direct hit to the chest from Snart’s gun.

From the shadows, Barry saw Snart saunter out, his usual parka on and his goggles tightly bound to his face. He was surprisingly smirking as he came into full view, and Barry had prepared himself to do battle with Snart on the off chance he wasn’t in much of a talking mood.

“Well, well, well. The Scarlet Speedster is here to save the day again. Should’ve known you’d be showing up. Stealing all that jewelry was just too easy,” Snart taunted. Snart lowered his gun, but Barry could see his finger lingering right over the trigger, ready to fire at a moment’s notice.

Barry swallowed and backed away just a bit to show Snart he didn’t intend to fight. Snart carefully watched him, and Barry had wished it wasn’t so difficult to read Snart and his body language.  

“I didn’t come here to fight, Snart,” Barry assured, making sure his voice was authoritative and bold so as to show no signs of apprehension.

“Really, and what did you come here for, _Flash_?”

Ever since Snart had found out his identity, Barry had always been—well—Barry to the man, at least when they were alone. Hearing Snart refer to him as the Flash with an emphasis was the signal he needed to realize that he and Snart weren’t the only two in the warehouse right now.

He heard the sound of another gun charging, and quickly moved out of the way before a torrent of flames came flying towards him.

Mick Rory came slinking out of another dark corner of the warehouse, but Barry had little time to focus on him before the dim lights of the warehouse turned on and Lisa Snart was walking in, completely unconcerned that Flash was standing in there new hideout. Now he was starting to wonder if he was the one being setup.

“I guess you were right about us having guests, Lenny,” she teased as she moved to her brother’s side, Gold Gun in hand.

“Wait, you knew I was coming?” Barry asked.

“C’mon, Flash, you should know by now I can pick up on these things. These were high class, valuable jewels we stole without your interference. That was red flag number one. Red flag number two was finding your friend Cisco’s little tracking device on one of the necklaces we stole.”  

Barry should’ve known how observant Snart was. He figured one of these days he’d stop downplaying the man’s high intelligence.

“So, this was all a setup on your part then?” Barry asked.

Snart shrugged casually and lifted his goggles off his head. “I wanted to test my theory, and I was right.” Barry watched Snart take a few steps towards him, his walk an arrogant swagger almost. “I’m still not really interested in killing you, _Flash_ , unless you’re here to break the terms of our agreement.”

Mick took a step forward, his gun still trained on Barry. “Shame, because I really do want to kill him,” the man growled.

“Now-now, Mick. Let’s just see what he wants before we decide whether to take him out or not,” Snart calmed. Mick backed down with a growl in response to Snart’s words while Snart turned to Barry, meeting his eyes with that smug grin of victory on his face. “Alright, Scarlet, you got one chance to tell us what you want before I turn Mick loose on you.”

Barry groaned. He could hear Cisco and Caitlin trying to contact him, but he turned them out so he could focus solely on Snart and the rest of the Rogues around him.

“I need your help getting some information on someone or something on the black market,” Barry revealed.

“The black market? And what exactly would Central City’s finest be looking for on the black market?” Snart asked him.

“There’s some drug being manufactured and sold on the black market that’s turning people into meta-humans, or at least very strong, and very aggressive people with powers. No one at the CCPD knows where it’s coming from and the people taking it are dying before we can get answers. But I know that if anyone knows how to get information in criminal underground and helps us save these people, it’s you,” Barry carefully explained.

“I should’ve known all that commotion had something to do with you,” Snart commented. “One of those— _things_ —nearly demolished our last hideout.”

“I lost a bunch of cute outfits because of those things. I had to go out and steal some more to make up for it” Lisa chimed in, not seemingly bothered at all that she once again admitted to stealing.

Honestly, this situation was more than just a commotion. Barry had spent the majority of last two weeks dealing with these brand new ‘meta-humans’. Almost every day some new mutated person was thrashing around the city, destroying and attacking any and everything in their path. The confusing part was that none of these people were truly metas. Instead they were just normal people who had been injected with some chemical that gave them inhuman strength and reflexes. It wasn’t unlike the stories of the Mirakuru that Barry had heard from Oliver.

These people were wreaking havoc all over Central City, and Barry alone was hardly able to stop them. The CCPD themselves were effectively useless against these things.  His only saving grace was that the chemical they were injected with was lethal and only seemed to work for a few hours before killing the consumer. The question now was who was making this drug and how they could stop him.

Snart shrugged, but didn’t seem at all moved or concerned by Barry’s explanation. “I’m flattered I was the first person you came to for help, Scarlet. But, I’m not in the business of helping you for free. What happens to the good people of Central City ain’t exactly a top priority of mine.”

“Fine, don’t help me for free. Let’s make a deal.”

The words had come out of his mouth before he could really process what he was saying. He was a long ways away from forgetting what had happened the last time he’d made a deal with Snart. But the options were limited.

There was a short pause before Snart motioned for him to keep talking. “I would hope you’ve learned your lesson from the last time we made a deal, kid. But—I’m listening.”

Barry, of course, hadn’t forgotten his last deal with Snart at Ferris Air. He was still kicking himself in the ass for that mistake. But this time all he needed was information. There weren’t too many ways Snart could double-cross him this time.

“You get the information on who’s supplying people with this drug, and you… can get one request within limits from me,” Barry bargained, keeping the deal vague and open since he couldn’t really come up with anything that Snart would actually want. He already had an agreement with the man that as long as people didn’t die, he wasn’t a top priority on Barry’s list of criminals to take down. And he’d already deleted his data out of the CCPD database. In reality, Snart really didn’t have a reason to help him at all.

“If you don’t have a chip to bargain with, then you don’t have a deal. Have a good night, Flash,” Snart dismissed. Snart turned to walk away, and Barry knew he couldn’t let this opportunity fall out of his hands. People’s lives depended on this, and he couldn’t give up this easily.

“Wait, Snart!” he shouted, halting the man. “If you don’t help us, more people will die, and these people and this drug will destroy this city.”

“Again, not my problem,” Snart countered.

“But it is. See if whoever’s making this drug perfects it, then I won’t be able to stop them which means they’ll terrorize and destroy your home, and every store you want to rob too.”

Snart narrowed his eyes at Barry in a firm glare, but Barry knew he at least had the man’s attention again.

The next few moments were silent and tense, but eventually Snart let his face and body relax slightly.

“I’ll think about it, Flash. Until then, you can see yourself out of my hideout.”

“How will I know if you decide to help?” Barry asked.

“If I decide to take you up on your ridiculous offer, I’ll find you. Now go before I change my mind and let Mick burn you to a crisp,” Snart bit back.

Barry glared right back at Snart, staring the man right in his admittedly captivating blue eyes. Snart’s expression was always unreadable, which annoyed Barry. He hated that no matter what, he could never understand Leonard Snart and his motivations. Even now as he stared at the man, he couldn’t tell how serious his threat was. Rather than risk it, he ran out of the warehouse though before he could make good on his promise, getting a few blocks away.

When he was far enough away he took a deep breath to collect his thoughts before reactivating the suits communication speakers.

“Barry! Are you alright?” Caitlin immediately questioned.

“Fine. Just—having a meeting of the minds with, Snart,” he grumbled.

“So, is Snart going to help?” Cisco added.

That was the million dollar question, and to be honest, he couldn’t tell at all whether Snart would come through or not.

“Let’s just keep looking for our own leads,” he suggested.

And that was all he could do for right now. He couldn’t count on Leonard Snart, and he wouldn’t. As much as he wanted to see the good in the man, he just didn’t think it was there sometimes.

 

********************

 

“So tell me again why we’re going to this dump of a bar. Oh and while you’re at it tell me why we’re helping the Flash?” Lisa asked, as she followed behind Len and Mick into a seedy bar on the outskirts of Central City.

“You know exactly why,” Mick grumbled. “It’s because he’s got a soft spot for the kid. Hell, he still won’t even tell us the kid’s identity.”

“Swore myself to secrecy,” Len answered. “And we’re here to get some information on this whole ‘meta-human’ situation, Scarlet is so concerned about.” He’d been mildly amused by their complaining when he’d told them that they were going to do some digging on this new threat that Barry had brought to their attention a few days ago.

He normally wouldn’t have been the least bit invested in whatever new threat Barry was dealing with. He was content to continue on with his usual routine of casing and robbing whatever he saw fit. But since last week when one of these things had decided to take its anger out on his old hideout and effectively ruining it, he had a bone to pick with these things or whoever was creating them.

Plus he now had an opportunity to push the Flash in his debt again, and that wasn’t exactly something he was willing to pass up.

The three of them gathered around a table, Len as usual observing and taking in every inch of the place to ensure things would proceed smoothly. Just in case he had his gun with him, but had specifically told Mick and Lisa to leave there’s in the car. The bar was a shady place where several illegal drug deals and other illicit activities took place, so no one would bat an eye with one person strapped at least.

“I still think we should’ve killed the Flash when we had the chance,” Mick muttered.

“If we kill the Flash then our entire agreement with him and S.T.A.R. Labs is finished. Besides even if the Flash hadn’t asked for our help, these people—meta-humans—or whatever the hell the he calls them, are causing problems for us. Or did you forget that our last hideout got trashed by one of these things?”

“So what if we lose one hideout,” Mick quickly interjected. “These things—they aren’t our problem, and I don’t see why one favor from the Flash is worth it.”

“Well you heard the Flash, Mick. He said Lenny could ask any favor he wants if we get him some information. Maybe Lenny can finally ask the Flash out on a date and get in his pants,” she teased.

“Very funny,” Len deadpanned.

Just then the man they’d been waiting for finally walked in. Len had a feeling any surviving member of the Santini family wouldn’t exactly be happy to see him, but he had a strong feeling they were well aware of who was peddling this new drug on the black market.

“That’s the guy. Alberto Santini,” Len pointed out.

“You’re going to try and get the information out of the Santinis? Last time I checked, you and Mick killed their former godfather and emptied their casino,” Lisa asked in complete disbelief.

“That’s why I’m going to ask nicely,” Len answered.

“So what do we do?” Mick asked irritably.

“You two stay behind and make sure no one does anything funny. I doubt Santini here came alone.”

“This is stupid. I’ll wait outside. Maybe go set something on fire to alleviate my boredom,” Mick chided before removing himself from the table and making a hasty exit from the bar.

Lisa rolled her eyes and huffed before standing up herself. Len gave her a questioning glance and she just shrugged. “What? Someone’s gotta keep him from burning the entire block down.”

Len watched her leave before taking a moment to close his eyes and settle his rising frustration. When he felt significantly calmer he stood up from the table and made his way over to Alberto Santini, who was sitting quietly at a table, sipping on whatever alcohol was in the glass he had at his lips. In one swift motion, Len slid into the seat opposite the man who looked as though he’d seen a ghost with how pale and shaken he became so suddenly.

“So, here’s how this is going to work. I’m going to ask you a few questions and you’re going to answer them, and then we’re both going to walk out of here like this never happened. It’s both quick and easy.”

“Screw you, Snart! You are scum to the Santini. I should kill you right here, you lying son of a—”

Santini stopped suddenly in the middle of his sentence, and Len smirked as he held his Cold Gun to the man’s chest underneath the table.

“I said this would be quick and easy. I don’t feel like killing you, Alberto, but if you choose not to play ball, then I’m not responsible for what might happen,” Snart sighed. He could see a bead of sweat start to form on Alberto’s brow, and he took that as an opening. “So, let’s try this again. Are you going to answer my questions?”

The man gulped, but nodded.

“Good. Now first question. Word on the street is that someone is selling a very interesting drug that’s turning people into psychopathic rage monkeys. I want to know where it’s coming from and who’s selling it.”

Santini smirked before scoffing dismissively, and Len felt a twinge of irritation seeing it. He had enough restraint not to pull the trigger on his gun even though he had a very strong urge to.

“What makes you think I know anything about that?” Santini questioned.

“Because the Santini crime family has been effectively involved in the drug trade here in Central City for years. If there’s a new drug being pushed around, you and the rest of your so-called family are always the first to know about it.” Len hunched his shoulders though after a moment and looked dead into Alberto’s eyes. “But if you want to keep playing dumb, then I can find someone else who does, and you can live the next few moments of your life experiencing frostbite on every limb of your body.”

“Tar. The drug you’re talking about is called Tar,” Santini answered.

“Keep talking,” Len pushed.

“Don’t know much. All I know is that some newbie on the streets started offering the stuff for cheap, saying it’ll juice you up. Few guys took it and—boom—they’re all juiced up and tough, beating the crap outta everyone. Next thing you know every gang in the city is wanting some. But then these random people just started turning up—begging for the drug. These weren’t you average gang-bangers and addicts though. These were regular people. They don’t got any affiliation with any gangs or nothing.  Apparently the shit’s highly addictive, and if you don’t get enough you turn into those freaks that’s all over the news tearin shit up.”

Len hadn’t expected the man to give up all this information so easily which meant somewhere along the lines he was probably being setup. But he could handle that when the time came. He was curious to see how much more information he could get.

“Alright, so who’s dealing it and where can I get some?” Len asked.

Santini scoffed and snickered at Len’s question. “What, you looking to beef up a bit, Snart?”

“About as much as you’re looking to get your entire lower body frozen solid. Now answer the question.”

His patience had completely disappeared now, and he regretted how little time it took. He was starting to feel like Mick now having such short patience for things.

“I don’t know the specifics. All I know is he calls himself Element and operates somewhere outta Keystone. Apparently the drug is getting mass produced out of some resort place over there. Guy apparently hasn’t caught Keystone PD’s attention yet.”

Something about the name Element sounded familiar to Len, and he felt that twinge of curiosity to figure out why. For now, this meeting had proved more fruitful than he’d initially expected. He figured Barry would be pleased to know all of this. He was starting to wonder though what favor he’d ask from the Flash. After all the kid did offer it up, so he’d be stupid not to take it.

Len holstered his gun before removing himself from the table.

“Thanks for the tip, Santini. Make sure to tell your family I said hello.”

“How about you tell them yourself,” Santini countered.

When Len looked up, he could see several men armed with guns storm the bar, all of them Santini family members who held a very strong grudge against him and Mick. The few others in the bar had made a hasty exit out the back, leaving Len alone with Alberto Santini and his newly arrived crew.

“You see, Snart. You thought you were tailing me the last few days, but I had guys on you the whole time, all for this exact moment where I could mercilessly end you just like you did to our family.”

“Save the speech, Santini. If you’re going to kill me, you might as well get it over with,” Len growled.

“Let me savor the moment, Snart.” He motioned for one of the men to come closer and was handed a pistol which Santini quickly directed right at Len.

Len once again felt his patience completely erode away, and let out a deep breath before letting his hand sink down to the holster on his thigh.

“Move another inch and I’ll end it right here, Snart,” Santini threatened.

“As pleasant as this little chat’s been, I’ve got better things to do. So—”

Right on cue, the door to the bar was kicked open and Mick and Lisa both were firing their guns at the assailants. By the time they were done, Santini himself was the only person still standing, the rest of his crew either encased in gold or burning.

“You two took your precious time,” he chastised the two of them.

Lisa pursed her lips and winked at him. “I found a cute store to rob later. Girl’s gotta have her priorities.”

Len smirked and turned his attention back to Santini. “Family. What can you do about them?” he taunted. Len pulled his Cold Gun out of its holster and pulled the trigger just enough to activate it. “As I was saying, we’ve got better places to be, so drop the gun and step aside, or you can end up like your associates on the floor.”

The two, Len and Alberto, were locked in tense staring match, neither willing to lower their weapons or let the disdain fall from their eyes.

With a growl, Santini threw his weapon to the floor and put his hands up before moving out of Len’s way. Len was careful to step over the bodies of the other men, and with Lisa and Mick in tow made his way out of the bar.

“So, did you find what you needed so you can get your happy ending with the Flash?” Lisa inquired.

“More than enough. Kid should be able to find what he’s looking for with this,” Len answered.

“And you get to make the Flash your bitch with your one unnamed favor,” Mick mocked.

“I haven’t quite decided what I’m going to do about our resident superhero just yet. But rest assured, whatever I choose to do with him will benefit all of us,” Len promised.

And he wasn’t lying completely to them. Helping the Flash regardless made them a much lesser target to the hero as compared to others which benefited all of them. But he figured whatever request he made to Barry would be something a bit more selfish, and he had all the time in the world to think about it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry tries to handle this new meta-human situation on his own, but of course Leonard Snart surprises him in more ways than one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm already overwhelmed with the support this fic has gotten already, so thank you all so much! I hope to keep it up and not disappoint you all! Just a little heads up. The first three chapters will set up the story, and either the end of chapter 3 or chapter 4 will start the undercover couple operation.

Barry had lost track of how many times he’d circled around Central City this morning, all in hopes of being proactive and possibly catching one of these new pseudo-meta-humans before they had a chance to cause too much damage. But just like every day before he’d found no signs of anything.

Standing at the docks at the waterfront, he decided to cut his losses and sprinted back to S.T.A.R. Labs. When he got back, he swiftly changed outfits, and hung up the suit before Caitlin or Cisco could even notice his return.

When he walked back into the cortex he was met by a grim looking Caitlin, who was ardently staring at something on the cortex computer.

“Oh, damnit!” she yelled in frustration.

“Everything alright?” Barry asked as she looked up at him.

She attempted to smile, but it couldn’t pierce the irritated energy that surrounded her.

“I thought I was close to breaking down the chemical compound in the blood sample you gave me from the last meta-human attack, but the sample decomposed again before I could get a full analysis,” she explained.

Barry let his hands fall to his hips and shook his head. “So—I guess that means we’re back to square one again?”

Caitlin nodded her head before going back to the lab and retrieving what looked like charts, most likely from the analysis that she had just done.

“The compound in their blood that’s causing the mutation breaks down too quickly even for us to analyze. In order, to get a good study on it, we’d have to find a way to either stop or slow the drug’s rapid decomposition.”

“And how do we do that?”

At that moment Cisco walked in, throwing a few Big Belly Burger fries into his mouth before washing them down with a sip of his soda.

“If could find a way to rapidly freeze the cells that could work,” Caitlin suggested.

“Which would be easy if we had a Cold Gun to help us out,” Cisco chimed in.

Barry rolled his eyes and groaned at the simple reminder of Snart. He hadn’t expected Snart to help him right away, but he’d figured that using the whole ‘they’ll destroy your home too’ argument would’ve at least spurred some modicum of help from the older man. Hell, figured Snart might’ve at least been moved to help by the deal Barry had offered.

But thus far Snart had done nothing in the way of helping him, and instead had killed several wanted Santini crime family members. At this point waiting around for Snart was a lost cause, and he regretted even thinking to ask him in the first place.

“What about Thawne? Did he leave behind anything we could use?” Barry asked.

Cisco scornfully laughed at the suggestion before taking his seat behind the cortex computer. “The only thing fake Wells left behind was a ton of destruction, and a mountain of Big Belly Burger trash, which by the way is not an exaggeration—it’s totally like a mini mountain of old Big Belly Burger wrappers. It’s kinda gross.”

Barry shook his head distraught. They had nothing again, and sooner or later another one of these things was going to show up and wreak more havoc on the city.

All three jumped to alert when they heard footsteps echo throughout the building, but they relaxed when they saw that it was just Joe and Eddie. Both, however, looked less than thrilled to be there, especially Eddie who still seemed apprehensive over being in the lab.

Barry walked up to his foster father and his partner puzzled. “Is everything alright, Joe?”

Joe exhaled deeply which meant while his brow was set in a firmly irritable line which clearly meant everything was not alright.

“Two victims in the last meta-human attack died in the hospital two hours ago. The captain wants to know that we’ve got this meta-human threat under control, and as the now leader of the revamped meta-human taskforce his anger falls on me. So we came here to see what you all know,” Joe explained.

Barry shrugged and did his best to look apologetic. “Sorry, Joe. We don’t know any more than you do. All we can say for sure is that there’s something—some drug or chemical—that’s turning these people into—those things.”

“Well that, and that whatever the chemical is dissolves too quickly to be analyzed in any DNA sample. Whoever is creating this drug has to at least be an expert chemist to design a chemical to work this way,” Caitlin added.

Joe looked about two seconds away from punching a wall, and he figured that the he was probably under a lot more stress than anyone else in the CCPD to fix this now that he was the leading the charge in developing a way for the CCPD to fight off the meta-human threat.

“Has the CCPD found out anything else?” Barry asked.

Eddie shook his head. “Nothing. None of these new meta-humans had any criminal background, or drug problems. The only weird things is that there were mostly upstanding people: an investment banker, an attorney, and a store owner. Well that and all of them had just come from vacation over in Keystone.”

“Well if they’re not criminals then it sounds like these people might not be taking this drug by choice,” Barry noted.

“All I know is that these things are destroying the city, and are getting stronger every day. I mean, Bar, even you weren’t able to beat the last one,” Joe pointed out.

Part of Barry’s pride felt hurt by the statement. He was still reeling from the realization that he really wasn’t the one who’d beaten Eobard Thawne. In fact, had Eddie not almost mortally wounded himself to distract his future descendant, they’d all be dead probably. Even the black hole that had opened up with Eobard Thawne’s death had only been stopped by the combined efforts of Firestorm to neutralize it. The fact that these new fake meta-humans were giving him such a hard time only served to make his feelings of inadequacy worse.

“I know they’re getting stronger, Joe, and that’s why we’re doing everything we can.”

Caitlin walked closer to Joe and Barry with the incomplete test results of the drug and another grim look on her face. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I think whatever these people are taking, it’s getting better. I think whoever’s making this—they’re getting very close to perfecting it,” she explained.

“Great. Just what we needed to hear,” Joe grumbled.

Just as Barry was about to explain the situation further when his phone started ringing. When he pulled it out it was an unknown number, and he’d almost considered ignoring it but decided against it and pressed answer anyways.

“Hello?”

“And here I thought you weren’t going to answer,” Leonard Snart’s cocky and calm voice came from the other end of the line.

Barry only had a second to be shocked before he sped away from the group back into one of the labs in the back.

“What do you want, Snart, and how did you get my number?” Barry asked, probably harsher than he needed to, but he was frustrated and Snart was part of the reason why.

“You could sound a little bit nicer,  _Barry._ After all, I am the one who has information on your—what do you call them—meta-human problem,” Snart condemned.

Barry felt his nostrils flare, but he took a deep breath and pushed his anger to the side temporarily.

“Fine. What did you find out?” Barry questioned.

“Sorry, kid. I don’t give confidential information out over the phone. You want answers; meet me at the coffee shop down on Fourth in say… two minutes. And don’t worry, it’s not exactly on your side of town, so you don’t need to worry about anyone you know seeing us there,” Snart bargained.

“Wait, two minutes? There’s no way I’ll get there,” Barry exclaimed.

“You’re the Flash. Figure it out.”

Barry didn’t get a chance to argue before Snart hung up the phone, leaving him with an annoying dial tone ringing in his ear.

Barry felt his anger return, but he simply grumbled and exhaled. If Snart had information for him then he had no choice but to hear the man out.

Sprinting around, Barry made sure to leave a note with Cisco before running across Central City into a narrow alley close to the coffee shop Snart had indicated.

The place was in a less than ideal area, but like Snart said it was relatively quiet and empty when he walked inside. Looking straight ahead he saw Snart leaned back in his chair with his feet kicked up on the table and his ever present cocky smirk. The little wave he gave Barry was just the cherry on top of it all. Despite his anger, Barry could objectively appreciate how good Snart looked, wearing a sleeker black jacket and dark jeans instead of his usual parka, but he instantly wanted to kick himself in the ass for even letting his brain go there. 

“Not bad, Barry. I figured you’d show up late just to prove a point,” Snart greeted as Barry sat down in front of him. Snart removed his feet from his side of the table

“I have better things to do than waste my time annoying you, Snart. Tell me what you know and let’s get this over with,” Barry grumbled.

“Not so fast, kid. First off, I think you should be a little bit more grateful that I decided to even help you. I went through a lot to get this information in the first place.”

Barry’s felt the scowl on his face grow, but looking at Snart he was still smugly grinning. Barry sighed and let his anger subside once again, knowing full well that Snart was in the position of power at the moment.

“Fine. I’m sorry.”

“Good. Now about that information that I worked so hard to get—”

“Wait, you didn’t kill those people to get this information did you?” Barry interrupted.

“And if I did?” Snart challenged.

“We had a deal. No one else dies,” Barry growled.

“And I had every intention of upholding our deal, but the Santinis pulled the first move. It was either me or them. Now do you want the information or not?”

He leaned forward, glaring at Snart, who was now visibly sizing up the situation with his calculating, blue eyes. Snart, however, didn’t seem concerned in the least and Barry could still feel that overwhelming cockiness still exuding off the man. The whole thing was as much annoying as it was almost—exhilarating. Leonard Snart may be a criminal, but he was every bit a mystery that Barry couldn’t seem to get enough of.

Barry eventually huffed and let his body relax into his chair. “I do.”

Snart smiled, and Barry felt another surge of irritability rise in his gut. That of course was replaced with utter surprise when the barista set two large mugs of coffee on the table in front of them before looking down at Snart affectionately. He didn’t know how Snart could be so charming.  

“Thank you,” Snart coolly commented before sliding a tip her way before she left. He turned back to Barry and smirked before taking a sip from his mug. “Drink up, Barry. It’s on me.”

Barry looked down at the mug of steaming liquid and, after a brief internal debate, he picked it up and took a sip, surprised that it tasted as good as it did and that Snart had a similar taste to him.

“The thing or drug that you’re looking for is called Tar,” Snart said, breaking the brief silence between them.

“Wait, Tar?”

“That’s what I said. Santini was a goldmine of information on it. It juices people up and makes them all big and tough for their little masculine display. But if they don’t keep taking it, they turn into those little roid-raged hulks you and your friends at S.T.A.R Labs are dealing with. You’re doing a fantastic job by the way,” Snart explained, and Barry had to physically hold himself down after Snart’s last snide comment.

Despite his urge to punch Snart square in the jaw, he at least he had a name to go with the chemical now. Even if Snart was going to continue to push him to his limits, he had been more helpful than he’d expected.

“So where do we find it?” Barry asked irritably.

“According to Santini, the stuff is coming out of Keystone, some resort apparently. I didn’t get much more than that before—well you know the rest, Mr. CSI,” Snart explained, not bothering to hide his playful jab at the end.

“Joe and Eddie said the last three victims came from Keystone. So, we’re looking for a resort in Keystone,” Barry explained, sounding probably more excited than he should have around Snart, but for the first time in weeks he felt like he was getting somewhere.

“Correction. You’re looking for a resort in Keystone. My part’s done,” Snart snidely commented.

Barry frowned, but he was right. His part of the deal was up, and he really didn’t think he could coerce anymore help out of him.

Snart leaned back in his seat again, and Barry noticed another unreadable expression on his face which put him on edge again.

“So, let’s talk about my payment for helping you and your little team out,” Snart quickly changed subject.

Barry swallowed down another gulp of coffee before setting the mug down and pushing it away. “A deal’s a deal. What do you want?”

Snart smirked again, and Barry felt his heart slowly start to sink at the thought of what Snart would ask for. He had nothing to lose and really everything to gain. Barry was lucky he said the request had to be within reason, but after deleting all of Snart’s records out of the CCPD database, his definition of what was within reason had changed.

“Don’t worry, Barry. I don’t want anything nearly as intense as last time. This time I just want—”

He got cut off when the building shook violent and a loud crash was heard nearby. The screams of several people came following that, and Barry had an immediate feeling that this was another of one of the fake meta-humans.

He was about to get up when a car came flying through the front of the coffee shop and heading straight for himself, the barista, and Snart.

He moved quickly pulling the barista and Snart out of the building before the car hit them all, and watched as the thrown vehicle trashed the entire inside of the store. Before Snart or the Barista could say anything, Barry ran back to S.T.A.R. Labs and changed into his suit before running back to the new trashed coffee shop.

Snart was already on his feet, while the barista was already making a run for it like everyone else.

“Looks like your friends are back,” Snart pointed out.

“I’ll handle it,” Barry yelled.

“Funny, I thought you said you couldn’t handle it which is why you needed my help,” Snart quipped.

Barry simply shot the man a glare before running back out into the open street to find where the meta-human was supposedly rampaging. He heard the sound of steel crunching and turned to see a car flying towards him. He moved out of the way, and set his sights on the culprit.

“What the hell…” Barry muttered as he looked up at what was another victim of the new drug. This meta-human was on a whole new level, barely looking human with muscles that were grossly disproportionate and red blotches all over its skin. The noises and movements it made were hardly human now. Snart’s calling these things hulks didn’t seem like an exaggeration anymore.

The meta-human slammed a fist into ground shaking it and creating a hole.  Despite being caught miniature quake he kept his balance and rushed head first it, hoping he could knock it off balance like he’d done with the ones before.

The meta-human had no time to react, but it didn’t need to as Barry’s attempt to knock it over backfired and he was sent reeling back. This meta-human was definitely stronger. The beast was rock hard and Barry felt as if he’d slammed right into a brick wall.

His head hurt and his vision had blurred temporarily from the impact while the beast was still rampaging as though it hadn’t just been hit at full speed by Barry.

The meta-human noticed a group of frightened bystanders and let out a beastly roar before making determinedly making its over to the group.

Barry sped the people away from the scene before the meta-human could reach them, and returned to see it was now staring angrily at Barry.

He took a deep breath, but heard Cisco beep him over the suits speakers.

“Please tell me you’ve found some way to beat these things,” Barry begged.

“Umm… nope. Still nothing on this end. The best you can do is wait it out until the drug wears off,” Cisco warned.

“That’s not gonna work. This thing is already tearing up half the block. If I don’t find a way to put it down now, who knows how much damage it’ll do until then,” Barry argued.

Another car came flying towards him and he sped out of the way, watching as the car took out a chunk of the building behind him.

“Barry, are you alright?” he heard Caitlin scream.

“I’m fine,” he breathed. “I’m going to try and see if I can take it down or at least weaken it. I can’t let it get any further into the city.”

“Be careful, Barry. Even from the little bit of analysis we’ve been able to do, we can tell that the DNA in these things are evolving and rapidly. This one is probably stronger than the one before,” Caitlin reminded him.

He didn’t respond as the meta-human once again set its sights on Barry, charging at him with another deafening roar.

He decided on a speed assault this time, and he sped around the meta-human, punching it as hard as he could, as fast as he could, hoping for a better result this time.

From the aggravated sounds he was hearing, he figured that maybe it was working.

That all came to a painful halt when Barry took a backhand to his face that sent him flying backwards and slamming into an abandoned car on the road.

“Barry!” Cisco and Caitlin screamed almost in unison. The sounds of their voices made his head hurt even worse, and he definitely was going to have a broken or bruised bone from that.

He tried to stand, but his head was still hurting too bad that even the slightest movement made him almost want to vomit which wasn’t good given that the meta-human was stalking towards him.

Barry couldn’t move as much as he tried, and he wondered if this was where it was all going to end. After surviving Eobard Thawne and every meta-human before, was it really supposed to end here, and if so, what was going to happen to Central City?

“Barry, get up!” Caitlin screamed.

He heard Caitlin, Cisco, and even Joe and Eddie’s shouting in the background, but he couldn’t do anything. The hit to the head had managed to disorient him too much to function, and even with his body’s rapid healing, he’d still need time to recover from a head injury like this.

The meta-human lifted a large and curled fist above Barry, and Barry awaited the inevitable blow.

The familiar screech of the Cold Gun sounded from nearby and Barry looked up to see a blast of absolute zero freeze the meta-human in place. The glare of the blast forced him to look away, but when it was all over, he saw the meta-human frozen and motionless while Snart stood behind it, expressionless with his finger still on the trigger, ready to fire again.

After a few tense moments of no movement, Snart lowered his weapon before slowly making his way over to Barry. Had he not been so dazed still, Barry would’ve sneered at the cocksure grin spread across his face.

“I expected better from the so-called man who saved Central City,” Snart jeered.

Surprisingly, Snart offered a hand to help Barry up, and didn’t seem all that shocked when Barry ignored his offer for help and did his best to get up by himself. His head still hurt and moving made him stomach sick still, but he was able stand up with only minimal swaying.

“So, is it dead?” Barry asked.

“I can’t imagine too many things can survive being frozen in subzero ice.” 

The minute Snart had said ice the thought had hit Barry so suddenly that he nearly fell over.

“You have to help me get this to S.T.A.R. Labs!” he told Snart.

“And why do I need to help?”

“Because you’re Cold Gun can preserve the DNA long enough for Caitlin and Cisco to analyze the drug in its system, and I can’t make it back alone. If we wait too long it’ll thaw out and we’ll lose our shot,” Barry argued.

“Still not a convincing argument, Barry.” Barry was about to argue with the man, but Snart shrugged and seemed to relax slightly. “But, you did save me from having my head smashed by a car, so I guess I’ll help.”

Barry couldn’t help the smirk forming on his lips. Even when he lost hope in Leonard Snart, somehow the man came back reviving his faith in him.

“So, how do you plan on transporting this thing back to your lab?” Snart asked.

Barry looked at the man unsure. “I—actually don’t know. I haven’t had time to think that far in advance.”

Snart threw an irritated and unimpressed glare in his direction, but Barry was in no condition to run back to S.T.A.R. Labs yet, and that the meta-human was too heavy for him to carry alone anyways.

“Seriously, kid?” Snart griped. Barry shrugged and watched curiously as Snart walked towards the meta-human. What he wasn’t prepared for was Snart kicking frozen meta-human over and watching it smash into pieces as it hit the ground.

“What the Hell, Snart!” Barry shouted.

Snart reached down on the ground and picked up the still frozen arm of the now shattered meta-human and threw it at Barry who barely caught it.

“Just because I didn’t graduate from high school doesn’t mean I don’t know how things work. You don’t need a whole body to get DNA. Now hurry up and run that back to S.T.A.R. Labs,” Snart commanded.

Barry figured he could try and see if his body had healed up enough to run, and tried to take a step forward, but his head was still recovering and his balance was off which had him nearly tumbling to the ground. Snart, however, reached out in time and grabbed his arm holding him tightly as he pulled him back up.

“Guess you’re not running anywhere,” Snart snidely commented.

Len’s hand was still gripping Barry’s arm, and Barry felt a little embarrassed at how much he noticed the man’s touch.

Snart let him go before walking over to an abandoned car left in the street and knocking the window out of it with his gun.

“Oh no—we are not stealing someone’s car!” Barry growled.

“You got any better ideas, Flash?” Snart challenged. Barry grumbled quietly to himself, but reluctantly shook his head and didn’t further object to Snart’s illegal action.

“That’s what I thought.” Snart unlocked the car door, and went to work hotwiring the vehicle until he got it turned on. “Get in.”

Barry begrudgingly obliged him, and stumbled his way into the passenger’s seat, but noticed that Snart hadn’t put the car in drive yet.

“What are you waiting for?” Barry asked, turning to the man.

Snart grinned back at him, and Barry was thankful that he was still wearing his mask. Snart smiling at him was starting to make him feel—uncomfortable—mostly because it was refreshing seeing the man smile a bit.

“Seatbelt on, kid,” Snart chastised.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Safety first.” The look Snart gave him very thoroughly indicated that he was in no way joking. With a groan of agitation, Barry buckled his seatbelt and was rewarded with Snart putting the car in drive and making their way towards S.T.A.R. Labs.

“Oh, and I haven’t forgotten our deal. I’ll make sure to tell you what you’re going to do for me when the time is better,” Snart reminded him.

Barry rolled his eyes and sat back in his seat. Maybe if he was lucky, Joe would kill him first for working with Leonard Snart, and he wouldn’t have to uphold his agreement.

“Like I said, a deal’s a deal.”

Snart grinned again at that, and Barry despite wanting nothing more than to get away from Snart, couldn’t help his lingering gaze on the man.

“Good. Now let’s go pay that little lab of yours a visit.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Len learns to never offer help to Barry when his cop foster father is around. And the team hatches a plan to deal with this new threat, much to Joe's annoyance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm again overwhelmed by the support, kudos, and comments! Thank you all so much and I hope you enjoy the chapter!

If anyone had asked what Len was planning to accomplish today, escorting one Barry Allen, aka the Flash, back to his secret lab after being attacked by a rampaging mutated human would not have been his answer.

Making things worse was the fact that he could feel Barry’s gaze lingering on him when he wasn’t either staring down at the frozen limb in his hands or the out the window as the they passed through the city. He initially thought the kid was glaring at him, but throughout the drive his glance had shifted to something indescribable.

Len chose not to bring up Barry’s staring out of fear that it would only further agitate the younger man, and he could admit he didn’t mind it too much. If Barry chose to appreciate his looks then who was he to complain?

When they finally pulled up outside S.T.A.R. Labs, Barry quickly made his way out of the car while Len slowly got out and watched. It was obvious the kid still was having difficulty walking, and who could blame him. Len saw the impact when he got flung into the car. Hell, any average human would’ve been dead. Barry, on the other hand, surprised him with what probably was a concussion and he had to admire the kid’s tenacity.

“You sure you should be walking by yourself?” he asked casually, leaning against the car while he watched Barry struggle.

“I can handle it from here,” Barry argued.

Len doubted that, and watching Barry pace himself towards the building was beginning to look pitiful. He hardly pitied people, but in this one instance he couldn’t help it.

Before he knew it he was making his way over to Barry and taking the frozen limb out of his hands, earning a stubborn scowl from the other man.

“I said I could handle it, Snart,” Barry grumbled.

“Yeah well I got tired of watching you pathetically stumble your way into your own lab. Needless to say, I’d rather not have Central City’s hero falling down and hitting his head twice and dying of a concussion.”

Barry seemed affronted by the insinuation, but determinedly kept walking.

“I don’t have a concussion.”

Len followed beside Barry with a smirk of admiration for the guy’s sheer stubbornness.

“So what do you call it when you hit your head and can’t walk straight?”

“A headache from being around you.” Len couldn’t help but snicker at that, but it only seemed to agitate Barry more. “You know they’re not going to welcome you into the lab. Not after what happened last time you tried to help us.”

“Well I guess you’ll just have to put in a good word then, won’t you? Face it kid, I’m not letting you stumble in their alone. Whether you want to believe it or not, you intrigue me, and I’d hate to see you wind up dead over something stupid like this.”

Barry looked as though he wanted to say something, but after a brief moment, a look of resignation crossed the younger man’s face, and Len took it as a sign that he could help.

He ushered Barry’s arm over his shoulder and let Barry lean on him for support.

Len wouldn’t deny that there was something—electric about having Barry lean onto him for support. He wasn’t prepared though for the kid to take it a step further and let his head rest against Len’s shoulder. Normally, he’d find this level of dependency pathetic, but he had even surprised himself by how much he just wanted to get Barry inside safely. For now he’d chalk it up to not wanting his most challenging rival to die on his watch.

The two made their way inside the lab, and into the elevator without much of a hassle. Once they were headed downstairs, Barry pulled away from him despite Len’s reluctance to let him go just yet.

“What gives?” Len asked.

“If you walk in first with me on your shoulder, they’ll probably think you’re trying to hold me hostage,” Barry explained.

“If your little team of geniuses thinks that I would hold you hostage and waltz right into your base of operations then I think I’ve given them too much credit.”

“It’s not just them. Joe and Eddie are down there too, and they definitely won’t be happy to see you.”

“Ahh, so dear old dad of the CCPD and his partner are here. This should be fun.”

The elevator stopped and opened, and Barry pulled his hood off freeing a mess of hair before turning back to look at Len.

“Let me talk to them first,” Barry commanded.

“This is your show, kid. I’m just following your lead.”

Len watched as Barry stumbled out of the elevator and down the familiar hallway, and slowly but surely he followed behind him, keeping a close eye to make sure Barry didn’t stumble and fall.

It hadn’t been that long since he’d been in S.T.A.R. Labs and everything looked familiar enough. The lab didn’t seem damaged at all by the black hole that had randomly opened up in the sky last month and wrecked half the city which surprised him given that he was confident that Barry and his crew were the ones behind it somehow.

Barry motioned for Snart to wait at the opening to the lab, but almost as if it were planned, Barry took a wrong step and nearly went down and Len instinctively made a move to pull him up which then begged the question of—when did it become a reflex to help the Flash?

However, in his sudden movement he found himself hoisting Barry up under the scrutinizing and very displeased looks of Barry’s cop foster father, his partner, and both Cisco Ramon and Caitlin Snow.

_Fantastic._

Almost immediately two guns were aimed at him by both of the detectives and Len had to resist the urge to reach down for his Cold Gun holstered to his thigh.

“Put him down, Snart!” Joe West commanded angrily. Len could see his finger on the trigger just waiting for a reason to pull it.

“Joe, stop!” Barry yelled.

“Barry, are you alright?” Caitlin worriedly asked.

Barry slowly stood up without Len’s help, and slowly eased himself out of Len’s grip. Len had his eyes trained on the two detectives though, ready to move at a moment’s notice should the two of them decide to pull something.

“Snart saved my life,” Barry admitted.

The two detectives looked at one another before turning back to Barry, their guns still not lowered.

“Look, detectives, I saved your hero and I gave him information on how to take care of this meta-human mess, so I think we can all agree that I’m not the villain here,” Len argued as he grew tired of having their guns aimed at him.

“Last time you helped us, five very dangerous meta-humans escaped and Barry almost got killed, not to mention you kidnapped both Cisco and I on separate occasions, so forgive us if we don’t really trust you,” Caitlin disputed. Len had to hand it to her, she was a feisty one. No wonder Lisa enjoyed getting her so riled up sometimes.

“Fine. Don’t trust me. I don’t really care. But you better get the kid checked out. He took a pretty big blow to the head,” he advised.

Barry turned back to him looking frustrated and annoyed before stumbling his way closer to his friends who were watching him cautiously.

“I’m fine. Seriously, we just need to get this analyzed as soon as possible,” Barry grumbled, holding out the frozen arm.

“What the hell is that?” Joe asked.

“A frozen limb of one of these meta-humans. If we’re lucky, Snart’s Cold Gun should be able to preserve the DNA long enough for us to analyze it,” Barry suggested. When everyone seemed shocked by the admission that Snart had helped them, he could see Barry looked almost frustrated. “Look, I know we all don’t trust Snart—but he saved my life and he gave us the information we needed.”

After a tense few moments, Len looking slowly back and forth between Barry and the two detectives still holding him at gunpoint, the guns were lowered and both detectives seemed to loosen up just slightly.

“Glad to see we could come to an understanding,” Len commented.

“Don’t push your luck, Snart,” Joe growled.

Barry turned to his foster father with an apologetic look on his face, but Joe shook his head.

“Before you say anything, you’re getting checked out. We know you almost died, Bar, and if we’re going to find out where these things are coming from and stop them, we need you healthy.”

Len watched the genuine care and concern detective West had for Barry, and he could see how the kid remained so positive despite everything that had happened to him.

“I’ll check on Barry while Cisco runs the test on the DNA sample,” Caitlin offered.

Barry handed the Cisco the frozen arm which Cisco seemed very unenthused to take from him. Barry turned back to Len briefly and offered a simple nod which Len took to mean he was safe, or at least free to go if he chose. Given being held at gunpoint by two detectives and the obvious unwelcome air of the lab, he figured leaving would be easier.

“Well, this has been fun, but I’ve got places to be,” he remarked before turning to leave.

“Not so fast, Snart. We need to know everything that you know about this situation,” Joe rebutted.

“And you have Barry who knows everything, and I’m sure he’d be more than happy to share it with you.”

“Barry, hit his head and has a concussion. And to be honest, I want to hear it from the source, and make sure there’s no bullshit in what you’re saying,” Joe argued.

“What you don’t trust the kid’s memory because of a little hit to head?” he taunted.

“I don’t trust you, Snart. But, since you like to speak in deals, I’ll make one with you.”

Len turned around now, facing Detective West with a curious glance. He was starting to see where Barry got his brazen attitude from. He only hoped Joe West was better at wheeling and dealing than Barry was.

“Alright, you’ve got my attention.”

“You tell us everything you know, and we’ll be willing to possibly overlook you and your crew’s involvement in the homicide of three Santini family members,” Joe bargained.

“What? Joe, we can’t do that,” Eddie argued. Len hoped Joe’s partner wouldn’t talk him out of this deal because it was honestly too good of an offer to pass up. He’d been a little too messy with how he handled the Santini situation, so an out would be very nice.

“Gotta say, detective, I didn’t think you’d be willing to play ball like that—but what’s the lives of a few crooked, murderous gang members compared to the innocents of Central City right?” Joe didn’t seemed at all moved by his speech, and it only amused Len more. He only wished Barry would be more enigmatic like his foster dad.

"Do we have a deal, Snart?" Joe repeated.

Len regarded the man carefully before taking a deep breath and shrugging. “Alright, I’m in. You get your information, and me and my crew get immunity.”

“Fair enough. Balls in your court now, Snart.”

Len snickered to himself, in utter disbelief that he was now making deals with the CCPD. He’d do well not to tell Mick or else he might explode into a fit if thought Len was working with the cops.

“The drug’s called Tar. Stuff gets manufactured out of a place in Keystone—some resort or something like that according to Santini. Stuff gets you jacked up like you’re on steroids, then you get hooked on it, and—well I think you’ve seen what happens after that,” he explained.

“So let me get this straight, there’s a drug turning people into miniature Hulks, and it’s all being produced out of a resort in Keystone?” Joe said in disbelief.

Len shrugged casually. “Believe what you want, detective. I’m just telling you exactly what I was told by Santini.”

“And how do we know you and Santini aren’t lying?”

“Well the simple fact is that you don’t know, detective. However, I can say that holding a man at gunpoint makes him much more apt to tell the truth.”

“He’s not lying,” Cisco called out from the computer. Len turned to Cisco and watched as he scanned over whatever was appearing on the computer screen. “The DNA analysis is done, and we’ve got a similar match to autopsies done on the bodies of various deceased gang members in Washington D.C over two years ago. The reports on the drug stopped about a year later.”

None of that meant anything to Len, nor did he care what was happening in D.C. He just wanted to get out of this ridiculous lab, and be done with this irritating pissing match he was currently in with the Flash’s foster dad. Looking back at the two detectives he could see that both of them seemed completely confused by whatever it was that Cisco was talking about as well.

“So, the drug was being made in D.C. and then just vanished? How come we never got reports of these things running around before?” Eddie asked.

“That’s where this analysis comes in,” Cisco answered pointing to the report in his hand. “You see, the drug that was in this meta-human’s DNA is almost forty times more potent than the drug the D.C. police department encountered two years ago. Plus, the drug we’re dealing with now has a high amount of lime in its composition which wasn’t a part of the first drug—which fits with Snart’s story that this drug is being produced out of Keystone City. They have a high amount of limestone quarries in the area.”

Len had to give it to Cisco; the guy was extremely intelligent if he could discern all of that. Hell, he was starting to see why Lisa found him so fascinating, even if he didn’t approve so much of her desire to woo him.

“So there you go, detective. My story checks out. Am I free to go now?” Len sardonically questioned.

“Oh no. I have a lot more questions for you, Snart. Namely, where the hell is this resort that Santini was talking about?”

“You think I know? I’m not exactly well-versed in Keystone’s layout. Better off asking Detective Thawne over here.”

“How did you know I was from Keystone?” Eddie asked surprised.

“I make it my business to know everything about the people who get in my way. Consider it an honor.”

“He does have a point though. Do you know anything about a resort in Keystone?” Joe asked his partner.

Eddie shrugged. “I’ve never heard of a resort in Keystone unless—” Len watched as realization suddenly hit the detective. “—Unless the resort they’re talking about is the Garden of Hope Couple’s Resort right outside Keystone City.”

Len nearly lost his composure to laugh at the ridiculous name. Whoever decided that was a good name to call a resort deserved to be robbed or something for that.

“Cute name. What is is?” Len asked.

“It’s a resort… for couples with relationship issues. I only know about it because my parents were frequent visitors,” Eddie admitted.

“Sounds like trouble in paradise,” Len mocked.

“Well when you’re father was the least popular senator in the state in almost twenty years it takes its toll. But that’s the only resort in Keystone that I know of.”

“We found the resort?” Barry asked as he walked out with Caitlin right behind him.

“You sure you should be up and walking, Bar?” Joe asked.

“I’m fine, Joe,” Barry assured, turning to Caitlin for reassurance.

“He’s mostly fine. He has a slight concussion, but his body is already healing the damage, and he should be okay after another couple of hours,” she explained.

Len could see the detective wasn’t all that swayed by their assurance, and even he himself wasn’t quite sure Barry was ready to be moving again. After all, he was the one who saw how hard the kid had hit that car. Any normal person wouldn’t have been walking out of there at all.

“So what did you find out about the resort?” Barry asked again, looking to Joe before turning his attention to Len. Len had to admire the kid. Sometimes he could be direct and straight to business which was how Len liked to operate.

“Detective Thawne here thinks your drug is being distributed out of a couple’s therapy resort over in Keystone.”

Len let his gaze shift to Eddie who was nodding. “It makes sense. Our last three victims all had come from a vacation in Keystone That would put them at that resort right outside Keystone. If we interview the victim’s wives I’m sure we can get them to confirm that.”

“So these meta-humans are people getting relationship therapy? Sounds sort of bleak, especially if they’re all dying afterwards,” Cisco commented.

“Somehow, we’re going to have to get up to that resort and stop that operation. We can’t have any more people getting hurt because of these things?” Barry replied.

Playing hero was, again, not something Len wanted to do, nor had time for. With all this chaos going on, he’d be free to loot and rob pretty much any place in Central City that he wanted, and that was not something he was going to just give up.

“You kids have fun playing hero. Now that my job is done, I’ll be taking my leave,” he dismissed.

“Wait, Snart,” Barry halted.

“What is it this time?” Len grouchily answered.

“If we’re going to stop these things, then we’ll need your help,” Barry admitted.

“Well tough. I’ve already done enough good deeds for one lifetime, and I don’t exactly feel like risking my life to stop a few problems that don’t concern me.”

That seemed to set Barry off, and before Len could take a step backwards, Barry used his super speed and was in his face, scowling in a way that Len assumed was supposed to be threatening.

“Right now, the only way to beat these meta-humans is with your gun. You walk away now, more people die and the city gets destroyed.”

Len glared back at Barry, but couldn’t help but smirk at how close they were. “Not my problem, Flash.”

“Then tell me why you’re still here, and why you helped me? You could’ve let me die and rob this city blind. But instead you killed that—that thing, to save me, and then brought me back here when you could’ve left me for dead out in the street. Don’t pretend you don’t care, Snart.”

Damn the kid. Len was starting to get annoyed at Barry’s constant insistence that he wasn’t the villain or thief that he’d worked so hard to be. Every time the kid was around him now, he kept taunting him with this idea that he was a hero or that he could be. It was starting to grate on his nerves now that he was starting to see the change in himself.

The two locked eyes for a moment longer, but Len relented and backed away from Barry.

“I’ll listen to whatever stupid plan you and your team come up with, but I’m not promising to help at all.”

That brought a smirk to Barry’s face before he turned to Cisco and Caitlin.

“So what’s the plan?” he asked.

“Well, now that we have the DNA analysis and drug’s composition, Cisco and I can work on either an antidote or at least a way to counteract the drug. In the meantime, we need someone to go to that resort and shut the drug’s production down before it gets perfected,” Caitlin explained.

“I can handle the resort,” Barry volunteered.

“Oh no. You are not going to that resort alone. What if there’s more of those things up there?” Joe interjected.

“I’ll find a way to handle it. Besides if there are more things up there, then I can at least protect myself better than anyone else.”

“I think you’re both forgetting the fact that he can’t get in alone. It’s a couple’s retreat, so you need someone else to—you know—be a couple,” Cisco said.

“And if you’re going to that resort then someone’s gonna have to stay behind and help protect Central City. The CCPD can’t handle these things,” Joe reminded everyone. 

Everyone seemed perplexed by the new questions that arose, and Len stood bored and annoyed watching all of them think.

It was Barry though who finally broke the silence, turning to Len with a determined glint in his green eyes.

“What about Snart?” Barry suggested.

Len watched the detective’s grimace at the suggestion, and Len wasn’t sure he felt that much different.

He’d had a feeling that Barry would suggest that, and he’d already mentally started preparing himself for the possibility of partnering up with the Flash for this. But rather than helping him, he had his own reasons to go out to this resort and find this drug source.

The name Element that Santini had brought up was still bothering him, and after spending some time thinking about it, he was beginning to recall a criminal that he’d once had ties with using that name. If Santini was right about this Element person being involved then he was going to have some other issues on his hands.

“Absolutely not. Bar, you can’t go up to that resort with Snart alone. Besides if he’s as useful to stopping these things as you said, then he needs to stay behind and help out here,” Joe exclaimed.

“No can do, detective. If anyone’s going up to this resort, it’s me. I might have a lead on the person who’s behind it,” Len replied.

“Wait, you have a lead, and you’re not telling us?” Eddie angrily decried.

“It’s a possible lead. And if you want this lead, then let me go to that resort and handle things my way,” Len argued.

“You’re way usually winds up with people dead, Snart,” Barry interjected. “Besides we need you to stay behind and help get rid of these things,” Barry interjected.

“No deal, kid. Even if I did stay behind, I don’t have the speed or mobility that you do kid. You need someone who can move faster on foot or in the air,” Len countered.

Cisco snapped his fingers and looked as if he had an idea.

“I just had an idea. What about Ronnie and Dr. Stein?” he suggested.

Len noticed Caitlin immediately seemed to seize up at the idea, and he figured she must’ve had some relation to one of the people mentioned. “We can’t, Cisco. Ronnie is still healing, and they’re still working on perfecting the Firestorm fusion in Professor Stein’s old lab.”

“It’s an emergency though. Plus they’re the only two who can get around Central City fast enough to possibly take these things out,” Cisco defended.

“It’s just not a good idea,” she replied.

“Cisco’s right. If Snart and I both end up at that resort, we need someone who can hold down the city here. Ronnie and Dr. Stein are the only meta-humans we can trust,” Barry explained.

It took a moment of Caitlin looking irritated and unsure, but with a sigh she seemed to relent.

“Alright. I’ll call Ronnie and Dr. Stein and get them to help. But they can’t do it alone. If something happens to either of them, we’ll need back up,” she advised.

“Leave that to me. I think I have some people who’ll be looking for something to do… if the pay is right,” Len offered.

Mick and Lisa weren’t going to be happy that he was volunteering them to help Barry and his friends, but he could spin it at least and make it sound like they were putting S.T.A.R. Labs in their debt. And chances are they could rob and steal whatever they wanted without worry of too much interference. 

“Oh no, we are not getting help from you, Snart. And we’re not paying you for your help either” Cisco quickly denied.

“So, what other back up do you have then, Cisco?” Len challenged, turning a questioning glare towards the scientist.

“Pssh—we—have tons of other help just lying around here waiting to be… helpful. Anyone wanna help me out here?” Cisco rambled, trying hard to think of something. Barry and Caitlin seemed sympathetic to his attempt at shooting down Len’s idea while Joe and Eddie just shrugged.

“Sounds like you’ll need my help then,” Len reiterated.

“Barry, I’m sure that in my old age, I’m probably mishearing things, but it sounds like you just said you and Snart are going to be together at a couple’s retreat,” Joe said with clearly growing frustration.

“It’s our best bet, Joe. If Snart’s got a lead, then we need him.”

“Bar, this is a horrible idea,” Joe argued.

“Don’t worry, detective. I’ll be sure to take good care of Barry for you,” Len promised.

“Surprisingly, that doesn’t make me feel any better,” Joe grumbled.

Len watched as Barry talked to his foster father quietly, and he had a moment to reflect on the fact that he had somehow just volunteered himself to spend an unspecified amount of time with Barry Allen, posing as a couple in a couple’s therapy resort. Given weird reaction he was starting to have towards the kid, this was probably the last thing he should be doing. But yet, he couldn’t bring himself to say no.

When Barry and Detective West had finished chatting, Barry turned to Len and approached him, an air of uneasiness surrounding the kid now.

“If we do this, Snart, we do it my way. No one dies if we can avoid it, and no stealing,” Barry sternly remarked.

Len took a moment to let his eyes rake up and down the man standing in front of him. There was something enthralling about Barry standing up to him, and he was now curious to see how much further he could push Barry in their shared time together. Besides the no killing part he could handle. The no stealing rule just meant he’d have to get more creative in where he hid his things.

“You have a deal, Barry, or should I say, _honey_ ,” he said with a sickly-sweet tone to mess with him.

Barry snickered, seemingly amused by Len’s joke and backed away.

Len took in these last few moments because soon he’d be in unfamiliar territory, playing house or something like it with someone he considered his biggest rival.

But he’d get the opportunity to put the Flash and his team in debt to him even more. And who could pass up the opportunity to mess with the Flash a little. If he was gonna put his life on the line for no good reason, he might as well have a little bit of fun with it too. There weren’t any feelings involved, or at least Len believed so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Buckle up because the next chapter starts the lovely adventure of Barry Allen and Leonard Snart estranged couple extraordinaire haha.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry and Len start their fake dating operation, and learn that they've got their work cut out for them even when it comes to simple things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I've been a little bit slower with the update. Coldatom Week is coming up and I've been working on stuff for that. Thanks for all the comments and kudos! I enjoy reading each one of them! Anyways enjoy the beginning of Barry and Len's awkward adventures in fake dating!

Barry pinched his forehead and groaned as he heard the horn blaring outside the house he shared with Joe. Just knowing that Leonard Snart of all people was sitting outside waiting for him sent waves of uneasiness surging up and down his body. It was even worse knowing that he was about to pretend to be the man’s estranged lover.

But if it meant saving the people of Central City, then it was a small price to pay.

“Bar, are you sure you want to spend an entire car ride to Keystone with him?” Joe asked.

Barry sighed and had to resist saying what was really on his mind. “There’s not much of a choice. Snart’s rule was he drives or it’s a no go.”

 “I still can’t believe you’re about to spend a week on a couple’s retreat with Leonard Snart,” Iris said incredulously. She turned to Joe and fired an accusatory glare his way. “And I can’t believe you’re just letting him go either.”

Joe shrugged and huffed. “Look, Iris, I hate this whole plan just as much as you do, but Barry’s right. We don’t have a choice. We don’t know of any other ways to stop these— _things_ —without Snart’s help.”

“So, we’re just going to pretend that Leonard Snart hasn’t tried to kill Barry on several occasions?”

“Joe’s right, Iris. Snart has information on these things that we don’t have, and right now his cold gun is the only thing we know that can stop these meta-humans until Cisco and Caitlin can finish a cure. He’s our best bet,” Barry argued.

Iris crossed her arms, and turned a frustrated look towards him, and he wasn’t quite sure what to say to ease her worries. He knew she was just concerned and worried for him. After almost losing Eddie she had been that way about everyone she cared about. She’d nearly lost all of them several times, but Eddie nearly dying to save the city was what finally pushed her into this newly over-protective mode.

But the lives of innocent people were on the line, so he wasn’t about to jeopardize that just because he didn’t want to be around Snart.

“I’ll be fine, Iris. I promise,” he assured her.

That didn’t seem to get her bad mood to budge in the slightest, and instead seemed to make her frown worsen.

“So, if you’re out in Keystone trying to find this drug or stop these meta-humans, then who’s gonna be here protecting Central City?” she asked. “I’m asking because Larkin wants me to do a story on how the Flash is handling these new meta-humans, but I can’t really do that if he’s not here.”

Barry turned to Joe for help answering the question, but Joe just shook his head slightly and Barry internally groaned. “Caitlin was able to get Ronnie and Dr. Stein to help. They’ll have some back-up too just in case.”

“So, who’s the back-up?”

Barry equally loved and hated how inquisitive she was. It made her a great reporter, but made his life miserable when he needed to keep things from her.

“It’s—uhh—the Rogues,” Barry mumbled.

Iris leveled an ‘are you kidding me’ glare in his direction, and Barry felt three inches small because of it. “Wait, you mean Snart’s crew who kidnapped Cisco and Caitlin and also tried to kill you?”

The horn outside honked again this time longer and somehow louder, and Barry once again found himself begrudgingly grateful for Snart’s timing.

Barry ran over to Iris and hugged her, surprising her too much to react or continue berating him.  

“I swear, Iris, I will take care of this and tell you everything when this is all over, but I would rather not piss off Snart more than I probably already have.”

He went to hug Joe who hugged him tight.

“Don’t let your guard down around him, Bar. Get the job done and get back here as soon as you can.”

Barry pulled back from his foster father and nodded. “I’ll call you as soon as I get there and find something out,” he hurriedly explained before grabbing his bags and running out of the door.

He wasn’t quite sure what he was expecting when he walked outside of the house, but seeing Leonard Snart leaned against a sleek looking Mercedes in a blue suit wearing dark, thick-rimmed glasses was not one of them. Barry nearly dropped the bags in his hands when he saw him, and he didn’t miss Snart’s smirk as he did so.

“Seven minutes and forty seconds late, Barry. I was starting to think you’d backed out,” Snart teased.

Barry swallowed and picked his bags up off the ground before slowly making his way over to Snart who just calmly assessed Barry with his blue eyes.

“Let’s just get this done and over with,” Barry grumbled as he waited behind the trunk for Snart to open it. He reminded himself to ask where he’d stolen the car from because he was quite confident Leonard Snart wasn’t the type to own a car this flashy. 

He heard Snart laugh from behind him, and the trunk popped open for Barry to drop his stuff inside. Barry could already tell this was a horrible idea. His feelings were confirmed when Snart was opening the passenger side door for him. He shouldn’t have looked as good doing it as he did.

“Thanks—I think,” Barry said cautiously.

“Just being a gentleman, kid.”

Barry rolled his eyes and sat down and buckled his seatbelt to avoid being chastised by the man again. Snart sat down in the driver’s seat, and did the same before starting the car and driving off before Barry could even have a moment to second guess this plan.

“I’m guessing dear old dad and sis weren’t too happy to see you go?” Snart asked as they turned out of the neighborhood.

“Can you blame them?”

Len snickered at that. “Not really. You could learn from them, kid. You trust people too much. For example, how do you know I’m not going to kill you right here and now?”

Barry turned to the man and offered up a sarcastic grin of his own. If Snart was going to tease him, then he figured he might as well do the same.

“Because you’re not the horrible villain you think you are.” That seemed to bother Snart enough that his grip seemingly tightened on the steering wheel. Barry leaned back in his seat while letting his smug grin spread. “Deep down inside, Snart, you’re a good person. Otherwise you wouldn’t even be doing this.”

“Yeah, well, we’ll just see how you feel after this is all over.”

Barry glanced out of the corner of his eye at Snart who was scowling again, and he mentally high-fived himself at getting one over Snart.

They continued to drive in silence for what felt like a short eternity. Eventually Barry saw the sign announcing their arrival into Keystone. Barry had been down to Keystone a few times before, but Snart had taken a route he wasn’t necessarily familiar with, but he figured it was headed towards where the hell this resort was.

He tried to stop himself from looking over at Snart, but it was hard to with him looking so—different. Objectively, he could admit that for a man years older than he was, Snart was good-looking. But all of that of course was drowned out by the fact that Snart was a criminal. But here he was looking even sharper than usual with this suit and the added effect of the glasses. It was almost too much to not constantly stare at him.

After silently distracting himself didn’t work he reached for the radio and found himself surprised that Snart didn’t threaten him when he turned to a station that he liked. In fact, Snart snickered when he heard the punk rock station start playing.

“You would be into something like this,” Snart teased.

“I’m twenty-six. I’m not into the music of your generation,” Barry teasingly fired back. “Besides it’s your car—or I’m just going to assume it’s your car and not think about the remote possibility that you stole this.” Snart rolled his eyes at the accusation, but it Snart’s fault for letting his passion in life be stealing, so he couldn’t really be blamed for thinking that.

“I didn’t steal the car, kid. I might have stolen the money to buy the car, but the car is on the up and up.”

Barry rolled his eyes. As usual, Snart was displaying his love of semantics.

“Whatever helps you sleep better at night, Snart. All I was trying to say is that it’s your car so it’s your rules. You can pick the station if you want,” Barry bit back.

“I don’t care what music we listen to. But, I think we need to get some things straight before we get in over our heads on this ridiculous plan of yours.”

Barry figured they needed to come up with a game plan at least. It’s not like they could just walk in there and easily pretend to be boyfriends, or exes, or whatever the hell they were pretending to be. It was gonna require some careful planning at least.

Barry reached over and turned the volume down before turning to the man. “I’m listening.”

“First things first, we need to change what we call each other. No more, Cold, or Snart this and Snart that. Just call me Len.”

Len. Something about calling Snart by a nickname just felt too… intimate. But if he wanted to keep his cover then heat least had to try.

“Fine, _Len_ , I won’t call you Snart. But no more calling me kid or anything that could even possibly hint that I’m the Flash.”

Snart—no, Len—actually snorted at that, and Barry felt like he wasn’t going to take that rule seriously at all.

“You need to work on your glaring, Scar—Barry,” Len corrected, with that tone that implied he found this more amusing than he did serious. Barry rolled his eyes and leaned back in his seat. “Oh, by the way, I got you a gift. It’s in the glove compartment.”

For some reason, hearing that Len had gotten him a gift sent a wave of unease through Barry’s body, which Len obviously noted.

“Relax. It’s nothing bad.”

When he opened the glove compartment he saw a glasses case sitting inside, and pulled it out to reveal glasses almost identical to the one’s Len was wearing.

“You got me a matching pair of glasses?”

“If I have to wear a disguise so do you. Consider it even.”

“No one told you to wear a disguise,” Barry griped. He toyed with the glasses, putting them on and realizing that they were essentially nothing more than designer hipster glasses.

“I can’t exactly advertise that I’m Captain Cold now can I? If I’m going to help you on this ridiculous plan of yours then I have to make sure I’m not recognized. Besides, I’m not exactly, on Keystone PD’s nice list.” Barry shot him a glare, and Snart just shrugged. “We can’t all be goody two-shoes with only three parking tickets like you, Barry.”

Barry snickered at that. Of course, Snart was wanted in Keystone too, and of course he’d looked up Barry’s record. He randomly though realized that he still had the glasses on. Snart had turned to him and shot him a casual smile that was actually _charming_.

“Something wrong?”

“Nothing. The glasses fit you, that’s all.”

Barry felt a heat growing in his cheeks, and—no he was not blushing. Not because of Snart’s compliment. God this was already becoming a disaster.

“Looks like we’re getting close,” Snart pointed out. Barry turned to look out the window at a very quaint sign that signaled the arrival of ‘Garden of Hope Couple’s Therapy and Resort’. He had one last internal argument of whether he was truly going to go through with this or not. It wouldn’t be hard to just speed back to Central City and figure out a way to handle this situation alone. He pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind though and steeled himself for what was to come through the doors of Garden of Hope.

 

********************

 

He and Snart hadn’t even had three seconds to relax after carrying his bags in before they was accosted by the woman’s overly cheerful greeting. Snart was leaning against the counter, bored as he tiredly looked between the receptionist and Barry.

“Welcome to Garden of Hope Couple’s Therapy and Resort! We’re so pleased you could join us for this week of love, relaxation, and healing. My name is Betty and I’ll be getting you both set up,” the receptionist, Betty, greeted. The entire thing sounded heavily rehearsed, but he had to give Betty credit for looking so dapper for what he figured was the millionth time.

The mountain resort was unlike anything he’d ever seen before. The resort was filled with large hotel style cabins with multiple floors all circled around what he gathered was a large pool and outdoor resort area in the center. Surrounding the entire resort though was the forest of dense trees with gates that cut it off the natural environment from resort. It seemed like a truly relaxing place to be. He only wished he didn’t have a specific mission or Leonard Snart to deal with while he was here.

“Uhh, thank you, Betty. Len and I are—excited to be here,” Barry said a little unsure and still a little off-put by her large amount of enthusiasm.

Barry turned to Snart waiting for him to say something, and he nudged him slightly earning him a brief dirty look from his fake-boyfriend.

“Absolutely ecstatic,” Snart muttered with obvious sarcasm.

Barry rolled his eyes and started to look around the building they were in. There were a few other people lingering in the reception area, all of them dressed somewhat like Snart, and their dispositions almost identical as well. Barry felt a sense of dread and pity knowing that any one of these people were possibly at risk into turning into a destructive meta-human, and all because they came to a supposedly renowned couple’s therapy resort.

“Well if I can just get your names and see some ID we’ll get you registered and on your way!”

Barry and Snart both handed their IDs over and Barry wondered what fake name Snart had registered himself under, but he figured he’d press him on it later. He was still actively trying not to look at Snart given he was still somewhat captivated by the man’s style of dress.

Betty slid their IDs back to them with a  smile on her face which meant at least whatever name and ID Snart had given her hadn’t raised any red flags.

“Alright Mr. Allen and Mr. Scofield, you are all registered and ready to begin your week-long journey. If you’ll just follow me, I’ll escort you both to the room you’ll be staying in for the week.”

Barry looked over to Snart who slowly stood straight up, brushing his suit off before letting his scowl lighten into a half-smirk.

“Fantastic,” Snart muttered as he walked ahead of Barry.

Barry huffed and followed the two of them and simply figured that the façade has officially started.

They weaved their way through the resort, taking in the entire location as they walked through the central resort area.

Eventually they found themselves being led to a building all the way in the back and taking an elevator up to the third floor. When they were inside Betty handed them both a key.

“Here you are gentleman. You should find everything you need inside! If anything’s missing or not working, just give me a call and I’ll have the maintenance staff handle it! Your relationship counselor should be up in just a little bit.”

That shouldn’t have shocked Barry as much as it did. After all they were at a couple’s therapy resort. Therapy would have to come in at some point.

“Thank you, Betty,” Barry said.

The woman smiled and nodded before disappearing back down the elevator and leaving the two of them alone with their luggage.

Barry looked over to Len who was staring right back at him, smirking almost mischievously.

“After you, Barry.”

Barry groaned and, using the key he was just given, unlocked and opened the door to the room he’d be sharing with Snart for a week. Of course when he walked inside the room was even more luxurious than he could’ve imagined.

Just past the entry was a large sitting room with a long couch and arm chair that looked as though they would swallow you whole into a world of plush if you sat down on it. A large cabin wood room divider separated the sitting room from the main bedroom. And beyond that he saw a bed even more luxurious looking than the couch and Barry had to resist plopping down face-first onto it. A large open plan bathroom attached itself to the bedroom, and inside lied a massive bathtub and separate shower.

He was definitely living the high life with this place.

“Damn, Allen. Remind me to add your friend Eddie to the list of people to rob. If his parents can swing a place like this, they’ve gotta be loaded,” Snart commented.

“You are not robbing my friends, Snart!” Barry clamored from inside the bathroom was he was inspecting it.

“Relax, it was a joke. I remember our deal, _Flash.”_

Barry stumbled at Snart calling him by his superhero name and he quickly came charging of the bathroom towards the man who was sitting comfortably on the bed.

“What the hell, Snart?! You can’t call me that here!”

“If you’re so insistent on yelling Snart wherever we go, then maybe I should do the same and ruin your secret identity. Remember, _Scarlet_ , we’re pretending to be lovers not bitter rivals.”

Barry swallowed and took a step back to breathe. He hadn’t realized he’d regressed back into calling him that so easily. It was definitely going to take a lot more mental fortitude than he’d initially thought.

“Right. Sorry, Len.”

That seemed to bring a smile to Snart—Len’s—face, and Barry figured he’d spend the next several hours drilling it into his head. Still, it sent another wave of unease through his body just thinking about how familiar it was.

“Also, bed’s mine.”

“No way! I saw the bed first!” Barry exclaimed.

“Should’ve claimed it when you had the chance. You’re more than welcome to sleep in it with me if you want. I don’t bite.” Len was smirking, and Barry groaned. He wasn’t completely sure if he was even being serious or not.

“Not a chance in hell,” he snipped.

Len shrugged and turned away. “Guess you’ll be on the couch then.”

Damn, he was looking forward to sleeping the bed too.

There was a knock at the door that stopped any further arguing between the two of them, and Barry looked to Len who just gave him an expectant glance back.

“Well, you gonna get that?”

Barry narrowed his eyes and growled under his breath, especially as he saw another smirk spreading across Len’s face.

Standing on the other side was a man dressed slightly more causal than Len, with a button down shirt and matching colored pants. He was an older man, definitely older than both him and Len, however old he was. Barry surprisingly didn’t bother to learn any important facts about him.

“Hi! My name’s Dr. James, and I’ll be your relationship counselor during your stay here,” the man greeted offering a hand to shake which Barry did slowly. “Do you mind if I come in for a few minutes?”

“Uhh, sure,” Barry muttered, stepping aside to let the man in. He closed the door and locked it before following behind the counselor into the sitting room where Len was standing against the wall silently observing the two of them.

“Umm—Len, this is Dr. James. He’s our—uhh—relationship counselor,” Barry repeated.

The doctor walked over to Len and offered another handshake which Len did without hesitation, though Barry could see the cautious gaze in his eyes.

“Good to meet you, doc.”

“You too, Mr…” he trailed off waiting for Len to fill in the rest.

“Leonard Scofield. And that is my boyfriend Barry Allen.”

Barry had to censor the baffled look that threated to cross his face at the use of the word _boyfriend._

“If you two don’t mind, I’d like to take a few minutes and do a quick get-to-know-you and assessment,” Dr. James requested.

Barry looked to Len who once again seemed irritated, but took a seat on the couch. Barry wondered if possibly spending an entire week with Len would help him understand the guy better because his constant fluctuation between teasing and annoyed was starting to confuse him to no end.

Barry begrudgingly took a seat next to Len, and shuddered when Len stretched an arm around the back of the couch, dangerously close to Barry’s shoulders. The only consolation was that the couch was every bit as comfortable as it had looked.

Dr. James took a seat in the arm chair and opened his portfolio and looked over it for a moment before looking back up at the two of them.

“So I just want to start and get to know you both a bit better before I discuss how we at Garden of Hope will work to bring you two together. Does that sound alright?”

“Sounds A-Okay with me, doc. Unless Barry here has a problem with it,” Len directed.

“Why would I have problem with it? I’m not the one with anything to hide,” Barry blurted out. Len surprisingly kept his composure despite Barry’s outburst that was definitely going to give them away, and simply closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Sorry, that was—uhh—a little uncalled for.”

“It’s fine. That’s what we’re here to improve,” Dr. James consoled. Barry was starting to believe that this therapy was actually real now. “So, I’ll start with you Mr. Scofield. It says here you’re an high risk art and jewelry appraiser. That must be an interesting job.”

Barry couldn’t help but snort amusedly at that. Of course he would pick that job.

“Something wrong, Mr. Allen?” Dr. James questioned.

Barry felt put on the spot like he was in school again and quickly dropped the look of amusement. “Oh, no, sir. Just that Len has a very colorful way of doing his job is all.”

Barry didn’t need to look beside him to feel Len’s glare boring into him.

“Well, Mr. Scofield, would you say you have a colorful way of doing your job?”

“I think what my _lovely_ boyfriend means is that I’m _very_ good at my job. My clients are always satisfied,” Len answered, though Barry felt his words were directed more so towards him as a taunt. Len did have a good track record of successfully robbing people even with Barry’s interference.  

Dr. James took notes on his pad, and Barry used the opportunity to look over at Len who was definitely mean-mugging him now. It would almost be hilarious if he didn’t have to spend such a long time alone with him.

“Alright, Mr. Allen, what is that you do?”

“I’m a CSI for the CCPD.”

“That must be a tough job,” Dr. James noted.

“It can be. It keeps me on my toes, but I get to see all sorts of cool things. And science is kind of my thing so it’s a good job,” Barry explained, feeling his smile grow as he talked about his job. It might not have been his ideal job, but he loved what he did, and loved the fact that he could get paid to do experiments all day.

“So on to the next question. How did you two meet?”

Damn.

Barry hadn’t exactly taken the time to think of a cover story for how the two of them met, and he was confident the ‘I met my fake boyfriend while he was attempting to steal a priceless diamond from an armored car’ explanation wouldn’t work.

“Barry and I met during an investigation actually. Some of my clients were robbed of a priceless art piece that I was set to appraise and so the CCPD were called in to investigate. Long story short, while Barry was piecing together evidence I couldn’t take eyes off him. A few dates later we were moving in together,” Len explained. Barry had to hand it to him, there wasn’t a single hint that he had made up every word of that.

“And how long have you two been together?”

“A year,” Barry said.

“Eight months,” Len said simultaneously.

Well, it happened sooner than he’d thought. They finally were getting caught in their first lie.

Dr. James looked at the both of them, a raised eyebrow directed at them demanding some explanation for the difference in their answers.

Barry knew he had to come up with something quick, and so he just let his mouth speak whatever the first thing that came to his mind.

“What so those first two months we were dating doesn’t count because we weren’t having sex?”

Len’s eyes actually went wide, and Barry had to mentally store away the sight of Leonard Snart actually caught off-guard for once.

“I—what?” Len said in complete shock.

Barry figured he’d have to keep it up. It seemed that Dr. James was highly invested in this now, given that he was leaning forward as if to get closer to the action.

“You heard me, Len. You know I was self-conscious about having sex after we had only been dating for a few months, but I guess it didn’t matter to you at all since I guess we weren’t dating then, huh?” he continued to accuse.

“What in the hell are you talking about?” Len said.

Barry just folded his arms, and did his best to look affronted even though inside he wanted to burst out laughing at Len’s entire demeanor shift.

“You’re still the same old selfish person you’ve always been,” he continued on, earning a glare from Len.

“Alright. I think we don’t need to go any further. I just have one more question and then I think I’ll have enough to do a preliminary assessment on your relationship and develop a strategy,” Dr. James interjected.

“And what is your next question, doc?” Len asked, relief almost flooding his face when he found an avenue to change subjects.

“I want to know what you both would like to see out of this therapy. What’s the ideal outcome for you both after your time here at Garden of Hope?”

Barry pondered that question, and beside him he could see Len was beyond aggravated having to think of an answer to the question.

“I guess, I’d like to see our relationship back to how it was four months ago,” Barry said unsure with a shrug.

“C’mon, Mr. Allen. You can give me something more than that. And turn and talk to your partner, not me,” Dr. James urged.

Barry sighed and turned to Len. He figured he might as well start pulling from his real thoughts and opinions on Len if he was going to get out of this one.

“Alright. I want him to be the honest, good person I think he truly is on the inside. No more lies, secrets, and betrayal. Especially the betrayal that doesn’t just affect me, but other people as well. Lots of other people.” He figured Len would know he was specifically referring to the Rogue Air incident again without having to be direct about it.

Len was silent, instead managing to crank the intensity of his gaze up several notches as he blue eyes masked behind the frames of his glasses landed on Barry.

“That was… very good, Mr. Allen. Now you, Mr. Scofield.”

Len took a minute to close his eyes and shift his attention to the therapist, but the man wagged a finger and him and pointed to Barry. “Don’t tell me, Mr. Scofield. Tell Barry. He’s your partner.”

The glare Len had screamed ‘I’m going to murder everyone here’ but he begrudgingly turned to Barry with an even expression.

“Fine. I want Barry to be less trusting of other people and to watch his own back. I want him to understand that the world is full of cold, ruthless people who don’t want to change, and don’t want anyone’s help changing, and he needs to stop wasting time trying to change them so that way he can continue being the optimistic, naïve person that he normally is.”

For some reason, Barry felt a sting as though he’d been slapped in the face. Len’s words… they had hurt, and he wasn’t quite sure why.

Dr. James cleared his throat in that stereotypical doctor way and looked both of them square in the face. “Uhh, that was great—both of you. I sense a lot of passion between the two of you.” Barry choked when the moment the words came out of the man’s mouth. Passion between him and Snart? The man must’ve been out of his mind. “But with all that passion seems to be a lot of hurt and betrayal. Specifically, there seems to be a lot of hurt coming from you, Mr. Allen.”

Barry snickered. “If only you knew the half of it.”

Dr. James smiled though and stood up from the arm chair. “Don’t worry, Mr. Allen. There will be plenty of time for me to hear the entire story—from both of you. For now I want you both to know that I will be using this little bit of information to develop a plan for the two of you during your stay here. In the meantime, feel free to use the rest of the day to explore the resort. Dinner will be served at seven in the main dining hall, and I’ll come find you both then.”

With that Dr. James excused himself and Len walked him out, closing the door behind the man, probably harder than he should have. Len turned back to Barry and took a deep breath and exhaled, letting his expression cool from the scowl it had been earlier.

“Well that was cathartic, but I think I’ve shown enough emotion for one day, so, I’m going to take a shower. Feel free to stick around or go do—whatever it is you do when you’re not busy being the Flash or a CSI,” Len said, almost dismissively.

Barry could appreciate the fact that they weren’t going to discuss the things they had just admitted to the counselor because part of him didn’t want to admit that what he’d said were his true feelings on Len. He wished the man would just be good. It would make how he was starting to feel about him slightly more acceptable.

He carefully watched Len as he sauntered into the bedroom, shrugging his coat off and onto the bed and undoing the buttons of his shirt slowly. Barry couldn’t take his eyes off, especially as Len threw the button-down off his shoulders and onto the floor. He shot Barry a knowing grin, forcing him to look away.

“See something you like, Barry?”

“Oh—no—I—umm—I’m just gonna get go check out the resort. Try not to steal anything while I’m gone.”

He got up and fled the room as fast as he could without using his speed. He could deal with his thoughts, feelings, or whatever the hell this weird thing with Len was later. For now he figured a good walk around the resort might do him some good.

Anything to give him a break from this room and from Leonard Snart.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Len gets a very angry phone call, and he and Barry of them meet their group for their week in Therapy which leads to an awkward and very surprising moment between the two of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait on this chapter! I was finishing up another fic, but now that it's done I'll be alternating between this and on other fic, so updates should be more regular! As always thanks for all the kudos and comments!!

Barry Allen was an enigma. A frustrating, talkative, slightly irritating, and fairly attractive enigma. Len hadn’t quite expected Barry to pull that story out of thin air, but he did, and had managed to make him look like the bad guy in the relationship.

He let the stream of hot water from the shower hit him as he started to wash his body with whatever fancy complimentary body wash provided to them.

Barry’s sob story about their fake issue in their relationship shouldn’t have thrown him as much as it did, but it did. In fact, he was still bothered by the fact that Dr. James probably saw him as a lecherous old man in a relationship with an impressionable, younger guy.

But fine, if Barry wanted to play this game, then two could play. He wouldn’t tell him when or where, but he was going to get back at Barry for that. That much was assured.

When he felt sufficiently clean and calmed down from the rather trying therapy session he stepped out and toweled himself off, listening to see if he could hear Barry in the room at all. He couldn’t hear anything, and so he figured Barry was still out taking a walk.

The kid had seemed mildly frightened when he’d caught him staring as he undressed. Normally, Len would be mildly irritated by someone staring at him. But with Barry it was—thrilling—in some ways. There was an obvious blush in his cheeks too, so at least he knew Barry was… appreciating his body. He figured a good way to pass the time would be to see how far he could push Barry.

He found a change of clothes in his suitcase and changed into them quickly before going to his other suitcase and pulling out a large container holding the pieces of his stolen gun. Thank God this place didn’t have intense security.

There was a kitchenette with a small dining room table that he figured would serve as a good work station, and so he made his way over to it before opening the container and removing bits and pieces of his Cold Gun. Learning to take the stolen S.T.A.R. Labs weapons apart and put it back together again was definitely the smartest thing he’d done for both himself, Mick, and eventually Lisa when she’d stop manipulating him or Mick into doing it for her.

He heard his phone start to buzz from in his pocket, and he didn’t need to look at the caller ID to know that it was Mick calling just as he’d expected.

“Hello, Mick,” he greeted calmly.

“Snart! You liar!” Mick yelled. He could tell that Mick wasn’t in their current hideout as Len could tell the acoustics in the background were different. He figured Lisa had done her part and either tricked or somehow convinced Mick to come with her to S.T.A.R. Labs.

“And to what do I owe the name-calling?”

“You didn’t tell me we’d be working with the Flash’s little playground buddies. I don’t like being tricked, Snart. I hate them almost as much as I hate playing hero,” Mick grumbled on the other end.

“Think about it, Mick. We help the Flash and his friends, then we put them in our debt. After that, we’re untouchable by him and his friends, and we can steal whatever we want in Central City.”

“I thought we already had immunity because of your little deal with the Flash?”

Len was tinkering with his gun, putting the pieces together to rebuild the gun for use again whenever they made some headway in this mission of Barry’s.

“The deal with the Flash was simply that we move down on his priority list. That means if nothing else is going on, we get an angry Flash on our tails again. Helping him and his friends out, and stopping these things that destroyed one of our safe houses, is the smartest course of action.”

“It sounds like one of your ridiculous plans to get close to the Flash again. Kids got you messed up, and not thinking straight,” Mick said.

“Ooh is that Lenny? Put him on speakerphone,” he heard Lisa call out in the background. He could hear Mick mumble incoherently in the background before he could hear the speakerphone turn on.

“Hey, Lenny. Did you find the place alright?” she inquired with that teasing tone.

“Found the place just fine. The Flash and I even had a free therapy session,” he answered. “How’s your first day on the job.”

“Boring. That uptight little scientist won’t let us play with any of the toys here, and no one will tell me anything, not even the Flash’s secret identity.”

Len snickered at that. “Good. You don’t really need to know who the Flash is. You just need to keep those things from wrecking Central City so we can continue treating this place like our playground.”

Lisa huffed and Mick continued to grumble somewhere nearby.

“It’s just not fair. You get to go off and play house with the Flash while Mick and I are stuck here cleaning up somebody else’s mess,” she whined.

“Well tough. Life’s not fair,” he bit back.

Lisa scoffed at that, and Len smirked just imagining the defiant look she probably had on her face right now.

“You better bang the Flash by the time this is over so you can get your head back in the game, Snart,” Mick grumbled.

“Woah, I did not need to hear that,” Len heard Cisco comment on the other end.

 _Great._ The last thing he needed was Cisco thinking his entire reasoning for this was to bang Barry. It’s not as if he was opposed to it at all, but the last thing he needed was Cisco running his mouth to the rest of team Flash, most importantly detective Joe West.

“Oh don’t worry Cisco. Lenny doesn’t take risks like that,” Lisa cooed. “Me, on the other hand, I like a little challenge.”

“Oh no. I am not falling for this again,” Cisco squawked nervously in the background again.

“Oh don’t be such a fuddy-duddy, Cisco,” she purred.

“Lisa. This is a mission, not a chance for you to date one of Central City’s most eligible nerds,” Len warned.

“Oh poo. Go enjoy yourself with the Flash, Lenny. We’ll talk to you later.”

Before Len could protest, the phone line went dead, and left him sighing and closing his eyes, letting the silence and darkness help center himself. He had faith that Lisa and Mick could handle the mission without screwing it up too much, but it seemed like she was already getting distracted. He grossly miscalculated her fascination with Cisco Ramon, and that was something he’d need to plan better for in the future.

When he felt sufficiently calmer he resumed piecing the gun back together, and felt satisfied when he heard the familiar screech of the weapon as it charged up.

“Ahh. Much better.”

He heard the door click and open, and watched carefully as Barry slowly made his way inside, his expression blank as if he was lost in thought. For some reason it made him smirk.

“Something bothering you, kid?” Len asked. Barry groaned, and Len snickered. “Let me rephrase. Something bothering you, _Barry?_ ”

“Nothing. I just took a look around the resort to see if I could find anything that stuck out,” Barry answered.

“So you’re finally canvassing a place instead of rushing in headfirst like you always do. Nice to see you’re learning.” Barry eyes were firmly locked on the gun that Len was tinkering with, and Len really wondered if he was so surprised that he was putting it together now.

“Yeah, well, better I do it then you,” Barry scoffed. “The less people see you around the lower the chance someone will make the connection that you’re Captain Cold.”

“Good to know you think so highly of my undercover skills.” Len watched Barry turn away with a displeased scowl on his face. “So, what did you find?”

Barry huffed and sat down in the armchair, relaxing back into it while Len just watched him. He didn’t know what it was about the kid that always kept his gaze effectively glued to him, but here he was staring probably a little too long at him.

“So far, nothing too suspicious. I think they store all files on the staff and guests in the main office. And there’s two trails that lead out into the forest, but you have to get through two locked gates, and one of them has a danger sign posted on it. Other than that there’s not much else.”  

That already sounded suspicious, but before he mentioned that to Barry, he’d have to investigate it a little bit more himself.

“So we first need to break into the main office and steal the files to go over?” Len commented.

Barry nodded. “If someone’s supposedly making a drug that turns people into meta-humans out of here, they’d have to have a background in science at least. Something that undetectable would be nearly impossible to make otherwise. We can scan the files and look for anyone fitting that category.”

Len nodded. “So we break in and look for someone like you and your little S.T.A.R. Labs friends. Shouldn’t be hard.”

Len watched Barry roll his eyes, and he took another personal victory getting under the man’s skin.

“There’s still the problem of the security. The main office is locked with a fairly sophisticated card swipe system, and apparently only the resort owners, the counselors, and that lady at the front desk have access cards.”

“Well just use your speed and steal one off of the counselors.”

“It doesn’t work that way. The plan is to avoid using my speed as much as possible. If the wrong person figures out that the Flash is here then we could run off whoever’s behind this.”

“Well I guess it’s lucky for you that you’re dating a professional thief then.” Len smirked when he saw that was trying his hardest not to crack a smile at that.

“Good luck getting one. I passed by a few of the counselors, and they all seem to be wearing their ID cards on a lanyard around their necks.”

Len raised an eyebrow. “Are you doubting me? Don’t forget, I’m the one who stole the Kahndaq Dynasty Diamond even with a good-looking speedster trying to stop me too.”

There was a hitch in Barry’s breathing, and Len watched a blush creep up the man’s neck and cheeks again. God, he was getting a high of seeing Barry blush so easily.

“I—uh—I don’t doubt you, Len. I just—you know what never mind. I’m going to go take a shower. I probably need to get ready for that dinner soon anyways.”

Barry got up and fled past Len into the bedroom, and Len just looked over his shoulder as Barry went through his bag pulling out clothes, admiring him as discreetly as possible.

He initially was only teasing Barry to get a rise out of him. But now the lines were starting to get blurred and somehow his attraction to the guy was starting to cloud his judgment a little too much. Maybe Mick was right. He was going soft for the kid, and making himself a liability.

Barry fled into the bathroom, and Len heard him grumble most likely because he remembered there was no door to close.

A shirtless Barry poked his head out and glowered suspiciously at him.

“No looking while I’m in here. And no going through my stuff either.”

Len snickered and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. “You do realize, I’ve had plenty of time to do so already,” he countered. He let his eyes rake up and down Barry’s naked torso that was still visible before looking him straight in his eyes. “Besides, Barry, I think I’m enjoying the current view more.”

Len could see that Barry wanted to scowl even harder, but he saw the brief uptick of Barry’s lips into a barely noticeable smile before the younger man disappeared behind the door and the sound of the shower started.

He figured since dinner was coming up, he might as well find some way to entertain himself until then. He could sit and plot how he was going to stop himself from sinking deeper into his attraction to Barry Allen, but instead he settled for doing exactly what Barry told him not to do and rummaged through his stuff for the hell of it.

He kept telling himself he just wanted to get a rise out of the kid, but a quiet voice in the back of his head kept saying it was something else, but he tuned it out before it could get any louder.

 

********************

 

It took every ounce of remaining energy in Len not to turn around and walk out of the so-called dining hall. The place looked like the inside of a barn with about four medium-length picnic tables with nameplates on top that were most likely there to dictate where everyone was to be seated during dinner.

The only solace in this entire situation was that he got to look at Barry wearing relatively tight jeans, and the glasses he’d bought for him, which Barry surprisingly pulled off pretty well.

“You have got to be kidding me,” he groaned.

“It’s not that bad,” Barry countered beside him.

“I’m a criminal who steals for a living. I don’t do assigned seats much less in a place like this.”

“Most criminals also don’t pretend to date their enemies either, but here you are, _Mr. Scofield._ ” Barry had looked so pleased with himself, especially as Len felt himself glaring even harder. Barry walked towards the buffet that was set up on the other end of the dining hall, briefly turning back to Len with a smarmy grin. “C’mon, _Len,_ let’s eat.”

He was definitely going to get Barry back somehow, or contemplate murdering him. Whichever one was easier.

He begrudgingly followed Barry to the buffet and slightly rejoiced in the fact that the food looked and smelled decent. The meal was simple, grilled hamburgers, hot dogs, and freshly cooked fries, nothing that could be easily screwed up or taste funny.

There were people all around, some making small talk with other couples, but most keeping with their partner. No one had passed much of a glance his way, which worked for him. It gave him ample opportunity to scope out anyone suspicious without rousing too much attention.

“I think I see our seats,” Barry pointed out. Len followed where Barry was pointing towards and indeed saw his and Barry’s names drawn out in elegant handwriting on the nameplate. He rolled his eyes when he saw two other couples seated at the same table.

“Fantastic. More people to make small-talk with.”

“Could you at least pretend like you’re interested to be here? The quicker we get this dinner over, the quicker we can find a way into that file room.”

“Fine. Lead the way, Bartholomew,” he grunted, ignoring the eye roll Barry gave him.

The two made their way to their seats and sat down with the three other couples watching them intently.

The couple across from them, the Andersons, were young, probably around Barry’s age, maybe a couple of years older at most. The couple seated beside the Andersons were the Valentis, who were a middle aged couple that looked tense seated beside one another. Len noted, however, that Mrs. Valenti, a woman who obviously wasn’t shy about revealing her body, or showing off her unusually large bust size, wearing a tight, revealing blouse and no bra underneath. Len noticed that she was eyeing Barry in a way that made even him feel uncomfortable. The couple beside Barry, the Bakers, were an older couple, in their late fifties at the least.

He and Barry, of course, were the only couple at the table that was, supposedly, gay _,_ unmarried, and had an obvious age gap. That made it a lot more likely for them to stick out, which was the exact opposite of what they needed right now.  

“Hey, everyone,” Barry greeted as he took a seat. Len sat beside him and tried to rein in the scowl on his face, which was becoming a trial all on its own.

The younger man at the table offered out a hand, which Barry shook. “Calvin Anderson, and this is my wife, Jennifer.”

“Barry Allen,” Barry said. “And this… is my boyfriend, Leonard.”

Len wasn’t sure when he was going to get used to be referred to as Barry’s boyfriend. _The Flash’s_ boyfriend.

“Nice to meet you,” Len managed to grit out before resuming eating.

Mrs. Valenti was next to outstretch her hand for Barry to take, and Len watched carefully as she gently caressed Barry’s hand with her thumb as they shook hands with a smile that was a little too suggestive for his liking, which why did he care that a stranger was ogling Barry?

“Lorelei Valenti, and I must say you have a very strong grip, Mr. Allen,” she said. Barry laughed nervously, and pulled his hand back quickly while Mr. Valenti looked expectantly at his wife as though he needed her permission to speak. “And this is my husband, Glen. He’s a—quiet man to say the least.” Obviously Mrs. Valenti was the dominant one in the relationship. She winked at Barry and Len felt his scowl worsen.

“Uh—nice to meet you both,” Barry said. Len would definitely keep an eye on her. Anyone who shamelessly flirted with someone in front of their spouse wasn’t someone to be trusted.

The older couple next to them didn’t see as interested in talking, and Len felt the older man’s gaze on him. If the man was trying to size him up or judge him then Len wasn’t going to be responsible for what he did should the man keep on.

The older woman though smiled warmly at Barry.

“Glenda Baker, and this is my husband Rodney. And please ignore my husband’s rude glaring. He was a commander in the army before being medically discharged, and he hasn’t quite learned how to treat people like regular civilians yet.”

The woman’s husband grumbled under his breath, and Len smirked. He liked a woman who wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. It reminded him of Lisa a little, and his mother before she’d left.  

Len stuck a few fries in his mouth before looking up to see the younger one, Calvin looking back at him.

“So I figure since we’re all in the same group we might as well spend some time getting to know each other,” Calvin said.

Len raised an eyebrow at the man. “Same group?”

“Yeah didn’t they tell you? We all have Dr. James as our counselor. He does the group activities as well as our one on one therapy sessions.”

“I wasn’t aware of that at all actually.”

Now he had to spend an entire week pretending to be Barry’s boyfriend in front of a group of people with actual failing relationships. This entire plan was slowly becoming more of a mess with every passing minute.

“So—uh—Leonard and Barry, how long have you two been dating?” Calvin continued.

Barry threw an unreadable glance towards Len before turning to Calvin. “One year. If you ask him though he’ll probably say eight months.”

The kid was like a dog with a bone, and over something that wasn’t even real. Barry obviously was enjoying getting a rise out of him, but if he wanted to play this game then Len was going to play it right back.

“Barry here likes to hold grudges. It’s one of the few things we get into arguments about. I guess letting you top when we have sex isn’t gonna fix it this time is it?”

Barry nearly choked on the food in his mouth, and Len considered it another victory as Barry’s face turned bright red.

“You alright, Bar?” he purred.

“I’m—fine—Len,” Barry grumbled.

Len wasn’t paying much attention to the other couples, but he was surprised to see Mr. Baker actually cracking a smile.

“Glad to see I’m not the only one who has to deal with a nit-picky, grudge-holder. Glenda likes to remind me of all the things I’ve done wrong since eighty-six. Isn’t that right, Glenda?”

Ms. Baker slapped her husband on the shoulder, and Len wondered if he and Barry just helped start an argument between the Baker’s.

“Oh hush-up, Rodney. We wouldn’t have these problems in the first place if you’d just listen to me when I tell you something.” The Bakers started bickering amongst themselves, but Len was quietly eating his burger and fries and ignoring the obvious glare that Barry was throwing his way.

“See Glen, I want you to be more forceful like he is,” Mrs. Valenti said, pointing towards Mr. Baker. Len watched as Mr. Valenti seemed to shrink under his wife’s scrutiny.

Just what the hell had he gotten himself into?

The Andersons were just quietly sitting, obviously uncomfortable at the growing tension between the Bakers, Valentis, and to a degree Len and Barry.

Len had effectively ruled out these three couples as their culprits for this meta-human situation, but he wouldn’t be one hundred percent sure until he got into that office and read over their files.

He continued scanning the room for any signs of anyone who remotely suspicious or out of place here.

He hadn’t quite forgotten his earlier encounter with Alberto Santini back in Central City. Santini had mentioned someone named by the name Element who was involved in the drug operation, and if his suspicions were right he had an idea of who this person was, and that might be his and Barry’s ticket to getting some answers. 

Dr. James, now wearing now a casual Garden’s of Hope T-shirt and slacks, walking their way broke his concentration, and filled him with dread at whatever reason he had for approaching them now. Thanks to Barry, he wasn’t sure he was ready for another of the man’s therapy sessions.  

“Good evening everyone,” Dr. James greeted as he took a seat at the table sitting on the other side of Len. “I hope everyone’s enjoying your dinner?”

Everyone smiled and mumbled some pleasant response except for Len of course. He wasn’t about to pretend he was enjoying this anymore than he had to.

“Before we start group exercises tomorrow, I wanted to use this opportunity for us all to become more comfortable sharing about ourselves and our relationships in front of others. To do that I want us all to do a small exercise to get everyone comfortable talking openly in front of each other,” Dr. James said.

Len shifted a glance towards Barry, who was doing the same to him. They both clearly had work to do on preparing stories to share with the group on their so-called relationship, especially if they planned to keep this cover up for the entire week.

“The exercise is called, kiss and tell,” Dr. James revealed.

Len rolled his eyes, especially after seeing how amused the counselor seemed with the title.

“And just what is this little exercise, doc?” he asked.

“Well, Mr. Scofield, it’s a simple exercise where you share something that you really like or dislike about your partner and then your partner will do the same. Afterwards you two kiss and we move on to the next couple. It’s a simple way to get everyone relaxed and comfortable being open and intimate with their partners with the others around. And since you asked, how about you start us off.”

Len met Barry’s glare with a cool glance of his own, and he nearly wanted to laugh at the pure frustration lingering behind those fascinatingly colored eyes of Barry’s. The rest of the table looked at them expectantly, and had Len’s mood been any worse he would’ve found a very colorful way of saying no, but they had a job to do, and he wasn’t one to fail any mission, no matter how stupid.

“Fine. Something I really like about Barry is that he gives good head.”

The rest of the table, minus Ms. Valenti, were immediately uncomfortable, many of their eyes wide and mouths slightly agape at the admittedly shocking revelation. Barry though was as red as his Flash suit and struggling not either bury his face into the table, or bash Len’s brains out with the plate in front of him.

“My my, he said something we didn’t know, Mr. Scofield. With lips like those it wasn’t hard to tell or imagine the things Barry could do,” Mrs. Valenti commented, throwing a pointed glance in Barry’s direction.

Len cocked his head to the side, and suppressed the urge tell her to back off. Any other instance and Len would’ve levied a threat against her for blatantly disrespecting him by flirting with his boyfriend. But this was a simple therapy resort, and Barry wasn’t his boyfriend. So why the hell was he getting defensive as if he was?

“Thank you for sharing. And just for the record we will be sharing very intimate details about our relationships, and in order for you to get the best out of this therapy you have to be willing to share all of it. It’s good that you’re so open, Mr. Scofield.”

Len smirked and turned to Barry with a smirk. “Well what can I say, doc. Gotta give _my_ Bar props when he deserves it. He works wonders in the bedroom.” He hoped that by emphasizing ‘my’ the female Valenti would’ve let that lewd glance she was giving Barry fade, but instead it only seemed to intensify it.

God, he hated this woman.

“Alright, Barry why don’t you share something you like or don’t like about Leonard.”

Len could see the defiant and challenging gleam in Barry’s eyes, and he immediately felt a pit start to form in his chest.

“Alright well since Len shared something good, I figure I’d share something bad.” Len cocked his head sideways again in anticipation for what was about to come his way. “I hate it when he falls asleep during sex. I used to think it was me, but I’m starting to realize that the age difference between us might be causing more problems than I thought.”

If Len could flip this entire picnic table right now without causing a commotion, he would’ve. Barry going for the age thing was clever, and Len could see the triumph lingering in his expression.

“Thank you for sharing, Barry. And I want to say, this isn’t the first time I’ve counseled a couple with an age difference such as yours, so I have ways of helping you work through that.” If Len had silverware he would’ve stabbed his own eyes out, or Barry’s, or even Mrs. Valenti’s just on principal alone. Dr. James, however, didn’t move on to the next couple, and instead, continued to look at both him and Barry.

“Something wrong, doc?” he asked.

“You two haven’t kissed yet. It’s important that you be able to be open with one another while still showing a commitment to loving each other too.”  

“Oh—uh—are you sure we need to kiss, Dr. James? I mean, Len and I—you know—we spend a lot of time kissing, so uh—I just don’t want to make people uncomfortable here,” Barry stammered.

A devious idea filled Len’s head, and he couldn’t help but smirk. Barry kept stuttering, but Len could see the blush again in his face. The kid was embarrassed to kiss him, but Len wasn’t, and if they wanted to blend in—well they were going to have to kiss eventually.

“C’mon, Barry. We wouldn’t want to disappoint Dr. James now would we?” he said.

Barry sharply turned to him, but Len quickly surged forward and planted his lips on Barry’s before he could turn away. Barry was very obvious tense when he first kissed him, and Len had to play it off, licking Barry’s lips slowly at first, but—but the kid’s mouth had parted, and Barry was... getting into it.

Much to Len’s complete shock his tongue had slipped inside Barry’s mouth, grazing over the younger man’s tongue in the process, and Len couldn’t resist the urge to lick around and explore every inch of Barry’s mouth while he had the chance. He let his hands frame Barry’s face while Barry just relaxed into the touch with a little moan that had Len kissing back harder.

At no point did his brain really seem to register that he was kissing the Flash. He was kissing the man who, nine times out of ten, was his enemy trying to arrest him.

“I think that’s good, you two,” Dr. James called out. Though loathe to do so, Len slowly pulled away while Barry opened his eyes slowly, until reality obviously hit him and he looked about three seconds away from a panic attack. “Very good, you two. I think we’ll be able to make some great progress this week.”

Barry stood up, his face pale now. “I—uh—need to run to the restroom.”

Dr. James pointed him in the direction of the restroom, and Barry quickly sped off, and didn’t return for a while, leaving Len to listen to the other couples air their grievances about one another before watching them awkwardly kiss alone.

If he thought he and Barry had issues, then these people were definitely on another level. At least he and Barry weren’t married or screwing each other. He ignored the part of his brain though that could imagine all of those things with Barry though.

 

********************

 

Barry didn’t reappear at all until Dr. James had dismissed them with a reminder to meet in front of the gate to the courtyard at eight the next morning. Len had wondered what had kept Barry so long, but he figured kissing his mortal enemy was probably more terrifying for Barry than he’d anticipated.

Barry made every effort to avoid looking at Len, at least while Len was actively looking at him, and as they made their way back to their shared room silence filled the space between them.

Len didn’t mind. It gave him an opportunity to start formulating a plan to get that keycard from Dr. James so they could break into the office and start digging around. But he was still observant, and even if Barry was trying not to look at him, he was doing a poor job of it.

When they finally were inside their room though, and the door closed, Len wasn’t nearly as surprised as he thought he’d have been when Barry was crowding him against the wall, his hands tightly grasping the collar of his jacket, and a sneer on his lips that were still slightly kiss-swollen.

“What the hell was that, Snart?” he growled.

Len just smirked unconcerned that Barry was quite obviously angry.

“That was me keeping our cover, kid. Don’t forget, this was _your_ idea to play couple. You want to keep up this stupid charade, fine. But you’re gonna have to play ball and act the part,” Len calmly replied.

Barry’s nostrils flared, and Len knew the kid had no retort.

Slowly, Barry let go of his jacket, but that sneer never left his face, and Len was fine with it. Something about Barry being so angry and aggressive did things to him. Dare he say, he found it hot seeing him like this.

“You should relax that look on your face, kid. Haven’t you heard your face will freeze like that.”

Barry laughed at that, a sarcastic, disapproving laugh, but still a laugh at least.

Surprisingly, Len was tired. He wasn’t sure if it was the exhaustion of having to put up with all those people for so long, or the fact that his brain hadn’t exactly slowed down since his kiss with Barry, but he was exhausted and knew he had an even longer day ahead of him tomorrow.

“Well, if you’re done crowding me against a wall, I’m going to brush my teeth and get ready for bed.”

“You’re going to sleep this early?”

Len quietly snickered to himself, something he found himself doing a lot more now for some reason.

“I guess it’s just something else to add to the list of things that men my age do with their younger partners. You can put it right next to falling asleep during sex.”

Barry actually recoiled when Len said that, but Len retreated to the bathroom before Barry could say anything else.

He discarded the suit he wore to dinner and brushed his teeth quickly in nothing but his undershirt and boxers. From inside the room he could hear Barry speeding around doing something, but he was unconcerned.

When he walked outside he saw Barry in pajamas, typing out a message on his phone. Much to his surprise though the kid was still wearing the glasses, and that somehow amused him.

“Updating your little friends at S.T.A.R. Labs on today’s progress?”

Barry snickered at that, but continued typing away. “You mean today’s non-progress. We still don’t have a card to get into the office.”

Len crawled into the bed and relished in the comfort of the mattress which was even better when under a blanket.

“In due time, Barry. For once, I’ll admit you were right. They keep those cards closely guarded. Every counselor in there had it around their neck. But with right diversion I’ll get it tomorrow. Now if you’re done talking, I’m tired and need to sleep. Men of my age don’t function very well without a certain number of hours of sleep each day.”

“Where am I supposed to sleep?” Barry inquired.

“The way I see it; you’ve got two options: either in the bed or on the couch. I make no promises that I won’t hog the blanket though.”

Barry seemed to consider his options, but with a glare directed at Len, he walked to the closet and retrieved a spare blanket from it before settling down on the couch in the living room area.

“Good night, Barry,” Len teased. Barry’s reply was a simple grunt of acknowledgement which was still more than he’d been expecting.

His entire mind was replaying the kiss that had really just happened. He had just kissed Barry Allen… and he didn’t hate it. Hell, he would do it again if given the chance. It might’ve been awkward at first, but Len wouldn’t deny that the kid was a hell of a kisser.

But with that desire to kiss him again came the anger that he was letting his defenses down around him a little too much. He needed to get this—thing—he had for Barry Allen under control, and quick. He had a job to do so that he could rob Central City blind without the Flash’s interference. Catching feelings wasn’t something he was going to let happen on his watch.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Still reeling from the kiss, Barry's anatomy betrays him leading to an awkward shower and exchange with Len, and an early morning yoga session shows that maybe Barry and Len don't hate each other nearly as much as they thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! As always thank you for the comments and the kudos! I enjoy reading each of your comments, and I'm thoroughly enjoying writing this! Also fair warning this is where the NC-17 stuff slowly begins. It's not too much, and it'll be dispersed throughout the fic, but just wanted to let everyone know.

As Barry had expected, his first night asleep on the couch had been restless and fitful. The couch was more than comfortable and the temperature, while slightly colder than he’d have preferred, wasn’t unbearable. Still sleep wouldn’t come to him because every time he closed his eye he kept replaying that stupid dinner over in his head.

He found that he wasn’t even concerned with the fact that his enemy was sleeping just a few feet away from him. No, the thing keeping him awake was the fact that Leonard Snart, the man who had tried to kill him on several occasions, had kissed him.

He kept trying to push that memory out of his brain, but like all bad memories, it kept coming back the harder he tried to forget it. Even worse than that, his body had betrayed him by actually showing signs of having enjoyed the kiss. He could admit that Leonard Snart was handsome in that older man sort of way, and the guy definitely didn’t look nearly as old as he really was. And with all the Flash stuff and dealing with Eobard Thawne, he hadn’t really had time for romance. He was just now starting to truly accept that Iris and he just weren’t meant to be right now, so any type of romance he got now was sure to stick in his mind.  

But still, enjoying kissing a criminal wasn’t something he wanted to enjoy.

And because of that kiss he had an arousal issue that he definitely wasn’t going to be able to handle until he could get some guaranteed privacy. However, he assured himself that if and when he got a chance to handle his irritating erection he would not be thinking of Leonard Snart kissing him as jerk-off material. Hell, he’d even be willing to think of that creepy Mrs. Valenti before resorting to Len. That was for sure.

The early morning rays of sunlight started to filter through the cracks in the blinds and he was just grateful that his pitiful attempt at sleeping was finally over. He sat up and yawned while rubbing at his sore eyes. God, he wanted to go back to sleep so badly, but he had a job to do, and that was find a way into that file room.

He got up off the couch and quietly walked back in the bedroom to see Len still fast asleep on the bed. He cursed himself for looking, but it was—cute seeing Snart so at peace. Being asleep there was no, hardened glares, smug smirk, or calculating glances. All he could see was a peace on the man’s face.

He wanted to punch himself in the face for looking because he was not helping his current situation at all. If he was lucky maybe Len was a heavy sleeper and he could get in the shower and maybe take care of the morning wood he was currently sporting. Though this wouldn’t have been a concern if they had simply added another door to separate the bathroom from the bedroom rather than the one door that simply divided the toilet from the rest of the bathroom for privacy. Seriously, if I ever met whoever owned this place, he’d be more than tempted to tell them that to their face. 

He tiptoed to the closet and found his bag that he’d stashed in it and grabbed a pair of boxers and a t-shirt before quickly making his way to bathroom.

He turned on the shower, and thankfully it wasn’t as loud as he’d expected, but just to make sure, he looked back to see Len still peacefully asleep. With a small sigh of relief, he disrobed and hoped in the shower, suppressing a hiss as the warm water hit his back.

He found the body wash and provided bath sponges tucked away in the back on the edge of the tub, but all he needed for right now was the body wash. He was determined to get rid of this problem before they got started today because he wasn’t sure he could handle walking around with a hard-on caused by Leonard Snart.

He was already half-hard, so he poured a little on his hands and lathered up his hands before taking himself in hand and slowly stroking himself off. If the shower hadn’t woken Len up then he figured his breathing wouldn’t either so he let himself relax a little, sighing and breathing deeply as he let his fist run up and down the length of his cock.

He tried hard to think of something other than Len, but like everything else in his life, it of course didn’t go the way he planned, and somehow he started to recall Len’s lips on his. He could almost still feel it, the ghosting touch of Len’s lips planted on his and his tongue slowly sinking into his mouth.

“Fuck,” he moaned. A vibration shook through him as he continued to pump his cock slowly, biting his bottom lip to try and stifle the groans that threatened to fly out of his mouth. God, this was such a horrible idea, jerking off while Len was asleep only a few feet away. But he wasn’t about to walk around with an erection all day. Honestly, that sounded even worse.

His mind started to wander, and soon images of Len shirtless were starting to flood through his head, and God he must’ve been really horny because shirtless Len soon became fully naked Len. His hand was swiftly moving up and down his cock, and his fingers were teasing every inch of skin as he thought about Len kissing him again. Another vibration hit him and with the flick of a wrist he was coming hard with a loud gasp that even biting his lip couldn’t hold back.

His body shook as he continued stroking himself off through his orgasm, and when he finally felt his body settle he stood under the hot spray for a minute and let the feelings of both relief and shame course through him.

He just jerked off to Leonard Snart. It only took him less than an hour to go against the one thing he told himself he wasn’t going to do. But at least his erection issue was taken care of, at least for now.

He quickly cleaned himself up, lathering the body wash all across his body quickly before turning the shower off and grabbing a nearby towel to dry himself off with. He didn’t bother to check to see if Len was asleep and figured he’d be okay using his speed to finished getting dressed and did so without a second thought.

When he was done he threw on one of his favorite sweaters and pair of jeans and walked out of the bathroom feeling pretty good and relieved. The first thing he saw though was Len reclining the headboard of the bed with a smirk on his face, and suddenly he didn’t feel so great.

“Damn, Scarlet, I would’ve thought someone was in there with how loud you were being,” Len teased.

Barry didn’t need a mirror to know how red he currently was. He tried to speak but words wouldn’t come out and instead Len sat on the edge of the bed and stretched, and Barry was trying hard not to look at the visible muscle underneath the man’s t-shirt.

“Don’t worry. I’m well aware that a man has needs. Rest assured I’m not going to hold it against you. Gotta say though, with those sounds you were making, you’d have a great career in porn.”

Len’s smirk was teasing, almost predatory, and Barry hid his embarrassment behind a scowl.

“This isn’t gonna be a thing is it? You making fun of me about—relieving—myself in the shower?”

Len rolled his eyes. “I’m more likely to mess with you about the fact that you just said the word relieve. And no, I’m not. We’ve got a job to do, and as much as I’d like to sit and discuss masturbation with you, I’d much rather spend my time plotting how we’re going to get a key card to break into that file room.” Len was still grinning, but Barry grumbled lowly. “Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to take a shower.”

Barry watched Len walk over to his bag, but he became distracted when he heard his phone vibrate and ring. He sped over to the desk and grabbed it to see Cisco calling him.

“Hey, Cisco,” he greeted.

“Hey man, just thought I’d call and let you know we’re testing our first prototype antidote that we created for these meta-humans,” Cisco explained, surprisingly chipper despite what was going on.

“That’s great! How are you all planning on testing it though?” Barry asked.

“Well, that’s the thing, downtown Central City is being attacked again by one of those meta-humans as we speak, so—uh—we’re going to test it on him,” Cisco answered hesitantly.

“Wait, there’s another meta? Cisco, why didn’t you tell me until now?” he questioned loudly.

“Because you and Snart are busy trying to figure out who’s making these metas. Caitlin and I are pretty sure the cure we gave Firestorm should work on it.”

“And what if it doesn’t?” Barry immediately countered.

“If it doesn’t then Lisa traps it in a case of gold, and we call it a day,” Len answered from behind Barry. Len took the phone out of his hand and held up it up to his mouth. “Cisco, hate to cut you short, but we’ve got our first couple’s therapy session in roughly an hour, so, you go do your little hero thing, and keep an eye on Mick and my sister for me.”

“Wait you want me to—”

Barry watched as Len disconnected the call before handing the phone back to Barry.

“I have to go back to Central City!” Barry exclaimed.

“You’re not going, kid. We’ve got a job here to do.”

“You don’t get it. Those things nearly killed me the last time. There’s no telling what those things will do to Firestorm or your sister,” Barry argued.

Len took a deep breath before turning to face Barry with an unreadable expression marking his face.

“First thing you learn when you’re planning a job is to stick to the plan, Barry. If they said they can handle it, then you let them handle it. I wouldn’t have volunteered Mick or Lisa for the job if I didn’t think they could take care of themselves. We have our own job to do, and I’ve invested too much into this to let you quit now.”

He trusted Cisco, Caitlin, and all of them to handle the situation without him. But it didn’t stop him from worrying and feeling that he needed to be there to help out. Even with Firestorm there to help out, he still felt like without him they’d be at a disadvantage.

“I trust them, but you saw those things and what they did. They need help,” he said.

Len smirked. “Fine. If you want to go help, be my guest. But if you want to start working on a plan to end this mess once and for all, you’ll stay here and let your little team do their job.”

Barry internally felt a wave of agitation rise because, as much as he hated to admit it, Len was right. He stood regarding the man carefully, and Len just stared right back, his blue eyes practically challenging him to go against him.

Barry sighed and relaxed his shoulders, standing down from the battle of wits he had been locked in with Len. “Fine. We stay and handle this here.”

“Good to see you made the right choice, Barry.”

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation, and Len made a face indicating that Barry was to get it. Barry speed over to the door and unlocked it to see a man wearing of the Gardens of Hope uniforms standing outside holding two pairs of matching grey sweatpants and Gardens of Hope t-shirts in his hand.

“Good morning, Mr. Allen,” the attendant greeted brightly. “For the activity today, you and Mr. Scofield will need to wear these.”

Barry accepted the clothing from the man and looked down at the clothing for a moment before looking back up at the man.

“Uh—thank you,” Barry said.

The man nodded and walked off as Barry closed the door and walked the clothes back into the bedroom, tossing a pair at Len, who caught them before eyeing them in annoyed disbelief.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Len bemoaned.

“Guess we have a dress code today,” Barry muttered.

“Guess so.”

Len walked past him and fished out a pair of boxers from his bag, and Barry couldn’t help but keep his eyes trained on him, swallowing when he saw Len bend down, and, God, why did Len have to have toned ass? First his kiss was beyond amazing, and now he was physically captivating too. He was beginning to wonder if finding his on-and-off criminal enemy attractive made him a bad person? He really didn’t want to know the answer to that.

“If we’re done here, I’m going to take a shower. Barry groaned as he watched Len walk into the bathroom and start the shower. “Oh, and I promise I’ll be a lot quieter than you were.”

Barry felt the heat pooling in his cheeks at the comment and directed a glare at Len. He nearly squawked though when Len throw his shirt off and pull down his boxers, completely unconcerned that he was standing within plain sight of Barry.

Barry stood there for a second completely mesmerized by Len’s naked body, and good God—Len was huge.

“See something you like, Barry?”

Barry teared his eyes away and looked up and nearly had a heart attack when he saw the smirk on the Len’s face, knowing full well that Barry was looking, and Barry sped into the living room and had to force himself to breath.

He didn’t need to see that, and it was his fault for thinking it was a good idea to ogle Len in first place. But damn—Leonard Snart was hung, and that was not a fact he needed to know.

Nothing had been working in his favor since last night, and he was resigned to his fate that nothing else would for the foreseeable future.

The only good thing was that he at least had confirmation that today was definitely not going to be his day.

 

********************

 

Len finished getting ready, and Barry cursed the fact that he made a simple pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt look good. Coupled with the fact he was still wearing those ridiculous glasses too; Len was becoming a much bigger distraction than he intended the man to be.

Besides Len, his mind was preoccupied with situation back in Central City. He had been checking his phone constantly from the time that he had been waiting for Len to finish getting ready until they had reached the courtyard. Other than the usual meta-human news alert, he’d heard nothing on what was happening. Len was walking beside him quietly, his current temperament masked behind his usual mysterious and emotionless expression.

“There’s no need to keep checking your phone. They’ll be fine, Barry,” Len finally huffed as they walked outside.

“I know. I just can’t help worrying. It’s not like they have super speed to help them.”

“Right—because your speed was a big help the last time.” Barry growled and Len simply rolled his eyes. “Focus on the job at hand. The sooner we get into that file room, the sooner we can find your little Dr. Frankenstein and get rid of him.”

“We’re not killing anyone,” Barry barked. Len just scoffed at that, but Barry was serious. He wasn’t going to murder someone no matter how badly they deserved it, and he’d make sure Len didn’t either, no matter what it took.  

They approached the group was gathered by the gate right outside the courtyard, and immediately Barry honed in on Mrs. Valenti’s uncomfortable leer directed at him. He made it his plan to stay as far away from her as possible, especially after that uncomfortable dinner last night. Mrs. Valenti clearly had no issues displaying her open affection for him, but he wanted not parts of it. The rest of the group all seemed tired and slightly irritable. With the morning he’d had already, Barry didn’t blame them.

Dr. James was standing at the head of the group with a woman he didn’t recognize beside him. The woman was dressed in yoga pants and a similar shirt to what the rest of the group was wearing. Behind the gate that Dr. James and the woman were standing in front of were what looked like yoga mats spread in a circle in the courtyard grass.   

“Good morning, everyone. I hope you all had a relaxing first night,” Dr. James greeted cheerfully. Barry noticed the lanyard strung around the man’s neck with the access card they needed. Great now they were going to have to get really creative to get that card.

Everyone mumbled a greeting in response while Barry and Len both just quietly observed from behind the rest of them.

“I want to introduce you all to Ashley, one of the activity staff here.” Everyone greeted Ashley who smiled and said hello back, while Dr. James waited for everyone to settle before he continued. “For our first couple’s therapy exercise, I want to us to start slow and try something both relaxing and a little challenging. We’re going to start with a couple’s yoga session which we’ll also use as a time to share a little bit about you and your partner with the group as well.”

Barry scoffed. While the rest of the team was dealing with a rampaging meta-human back home, he was going to be doing yoga with Snart. If he knew that he wouldn’t draw attention to himself, he would’ve laughed at the irony. However, he needed to stop these meta-human attacks at the source, and the only way they could do that is by staying here and getting through this therapy session.  

“What I want us all to do is do some yoga poses that will get harder as we progress. And during each pose I will pick a couple to share something about themselves or their partner. It can be anything you want. This is an open forum and no one’s interests will be shamed. At the end I will choose the couple who have done the poses the most successfully, and they’ll win a prize,” Dr. James explained.

“So a little bit of light yoga and a quick counseling session. Doesn’t sound too hard, Dr. James,” Calvin replied. Barry figured out of everyone in the group he and Calvin would get along the best since they both seemed close to one another in age.

“Careful, Calvin. While many think yoga is easy, it requires concentration and works your full body. Doing yoga with a partner requires communication both verbal and silent in order to effectively work your body properly.”

For their first exercise Barry figured this was a little too easy. He’d expected some intense counseling and therapy to get the week started, not yoga. The last time Iris had dragged him to one of her yoga sessions some of those poses were just a bit too suggestive, especially when he had to do them with someone he’d had been crushing on for the last several years of his life. Doing yoga with Snart, especially after every he’d seen this morning wasn’t going to be much different.  

“So, if you will, each couple take a seat on a mat facing your partner and remove your shoes,” Dr. James instructed.

Barry turned to Len whose dark expression showed just how little he wanted to be here. At least they agreed on that today.

“Hope you’re in shape enough for this,” Barry teased.

“Funny. I’m sure you’re more than relaxed and loose enough after you’re shower this morning,” Len bit right back.

Barry rolled his eyes, but cracked a smile. There was a distinct lack of tension between the two of them, and Barry was surprised that they were actually bantering with each other. He just hoped that being this close to Len wouldn’t cause any problems for him.

Dr. James unlocked the gate and the couples all started to make their way through the gate, Barry, however, grabbed Len by the arm and held him back, earning him a stern glare Len. Len didn’t say anything though and Barry discreetly pointed at the Dr. James’ back pocket.

“He’s got another swipe card in his wallet. Maybe we can steal this one,” he whispered. 

“You think I didn’t notice that? Don’t forget who you’re dealing with a professional thief who can out-do even the Flash,” Len scoffed.

“You know, you’re really full of yourself, Snart,” Barry mocked.

“I outsmarted you didn’t I.”

Barry rolled his eyes, but Dr. James cleared his throat and directed a bemused glance their way.

“Barry, Leonard is everything alright?”

“Oh—uh—yeah. Len and I were just—uh—discussing our game plan… for the yoga,” Barry answered. As far as lies went, he knew it was a horrible lie, but by now Len should’ve known he wasn’t exactly great at being anything but a goody two shoes.

Dr. James simply nodded, and Len grabbed Barry’s arm and dragged him over to the mat.

“Really? Discussing a game plan to do yoga?” Len angrily muttered.

“I didn’t know what else to say,” Barry argued.

“Glad to know you’re a horrible liar. Next time leave the excuses to me,” Len said irritably.

Unfortunately, the only open mat was right next to the Valentis and Barry shuddered as he saw Mrs. Valenti wink at him. It had just dawned on him that she was going to have a very good view of him doing yoga in sweatpants and that sent another shiver down his body. Len though had a glare firmly fixed on her, and Barry was sensing that Len disliked her more than he did.

“Alright, couples, are you ready to begin?” Dr. James asked. Everyone nodded and Dr. James took a seat on the mat with Ashley and they turned facing opposite each other with their backs pressed together. “Before we start the poses I want us to do a breathing exercise. Sit back to back with your partner cross-cross and breathe in and out.”

Barry looked to Len who looked about three seconds away from murdering someone, but sighed and did as Dr. James instructed and turned away from Len. He waited for several moments, but eventually he felt Len’s back press against his, hating that his breath seemed to stop the moment he felt Len touching him.

“Alright, Ashley, I will let you lead,” Dr. James said.

“Alright, group. Put your hands on your knees and close your eyes, and breathe in and out slowly, and make sure you can feel your partner’s breath as well. And remember partner yoga is all about non-verbal communication.”

Barry closed his eyes and let started breathing, but nearly jumped when he felt Len’s inhaling and exhaling through his own body. It felt so—intimate, and it was creeping him out.

“Damn, Scarlet, do you breathe as fast you run or something?” Len murmured.

Barry hadn’t realized that he was breathing faster now, and quickly corrected that before he drew too much attention to himself.

“Good job, couples. Now stretch your arms out to the side and put your palms together and, slowly, the person with their arms on top will fold forward while the other person will bend with that person.”

Barry and Len did as they were told and felt Len’s palm flat against his, and yeah it was definitely an uncomfortable level of intimacy right now. Len’s arms were on top which meant he had to fold forward. Barry heard Len mumble something he couldn’t quite make out, but he had a feeling it was filled with anger and discontent. Slowly, Len leaned forward while Barry leaned back, keeping his back pressed against Len’s.

“Try not to break my back,” Len said sarcastically.

“Well maybe if you weren’t so old I wouldn’t have to worry about it,” Barry teased.

Barry cracked an eye open and glanced around at the other couples to see if they were doing it right, and the level of discomfort in both the Bakers and the Valenti’s body language was evident even with something as simple as breathing. He could see the tension in the shoulders of both Mr. Baker and Mrs. Valenti, while their spouses were fidgeting their bodies to try and get comfortable. Watching them was making him realize just how at ease he and Len were with each other already, and they had the most reasons out of anyone here to be tense around one another.

“Alright, now change it up and this time the other person will lean forward and the other person will lean back against them. Remember to breathe in and out slowly, and feel the silent communication with your partner.”

Barry and Len swapped and this time Len was leaning against him, pushing him forward while the low drum of his breathing vibrated throughout his body.

“Alright, so let’s start with some questions. How about we start with you, Lorelei. Tell me something you love about Glen, and then tell me something he does that maybe frustrates you that maybe you’d like to improve on while you’re here,” Dr. James asked from where was leaned forward on the ground.

“Hmm, something I like about Glen is that he is an amazing cook. Give him an hour in the kitchen and a fresh supply of groceries and he’ll make you something orgasmic.”

Barry felt a chill crawl through his body thinking of the word orgasmic and Mrs. Valenti, and he was pretty sure he’d made a small vomiting noise. He felt Len nudge him to be quiet and he begrudgingly did so, but not before nudging Len back.

“Very good, now something that maybe frustrates you?” Dr. James said.

“Right, something that bothers me. Hmm… I would say Glen’s lack of passion. He’s so blasé about everything. He hardly gets excited anymore. It makes me feel so old. I just want some passion and excitement again like when we were younger.”

Ashley had stopped Mrs. Valenti and had them change positions and now he and Len were sitting facing one another, their legs stretched out and their feet pressed together while they grabbed each other’s wrists to stretch their entire body. Barry now could see that Len was analyzing everything around him. It was that same shifty glance that had made Barry nervous when they were battling against each other as the Flash and Captain Cold.

“You look like you're thinking about something,” Barry quietly noticed.

“I'm thinking of a way to create a big enough distraction to get that key card.”

Barry snorted as he and Len reached further up each other’s arms and leaned forward. “Good luck with that. The only distracting thing right now is how tense the Bakers and the Valentis are.”

Len hummed, but otherwise didn’t say anything to response to Barry’s inference.

“You’re not plotting something are you?” he asked.

“Just keep an eye on the Valenti’s and I’ll keep an eye on the Bakers.”

Curiosity at what Len had planned distracted Barry from whatever it was that Mr. Valenti had said, but whatever it was obviously hadn’t sat well with his wife as her body was even more rigid now. He was beginning to wonder if there was even a possibility to salvage that relationship.

“Alright, let’s try a new pose. This one will be a little bit more challenging than the others.”

Barry turned from the Valentis to the Dr. James and Ashely and watched as they slowly lifted their legs up in the air one by one in an open v position, their feet still pressed together while grasping each other’s wrist. The pose looked painful, and Barry was starting to wonder if he could do it.

“Well, Barry?” Len said, cocking an eyebrow while holding his hands out for Barry to grab his wrist. Barry huffed and pressed his feet against Len’s again while grabbing on to Len’s wrist. He was shocked to see it, but Len was surprisingly flexible, not showing any signs of exhaustion or strain. Worse was that the pose gave Barry a very good view of Len’s cock through his pants, and the sweatpants were definitely not hiding how big he was.

“You’re… actually good at this,” Barry groaned as he struggled to breathe in the position he was in, and distract himself from looking at Len.

“Yeah, well, robbing banks requires a certain level of fitness. You can’t case a joint and run from the police without going to the gym every once in a while” Len quietly said.

Barry smirked at that, but that smirk disappeared when he saw Dr. James turn to them.

“Barry, how about you go next. How about you tell us something you love to do by yourself and something you like to do with Leonard.”

Great. He was already straining his body to the point that talking hurt, which for someone who ran as much as he did was pretty depressing, but now he was being put on the spot.

“Umm, well I love running. I love running all around Central City, and sometimes I like to stop help people with their problems whenever I can. It’s—relaxing,” Barry answered.

“Ooh, a man who likes to help others, that’s definitely my type,” Mrs. Valenti commented.

Barry could see Len frowning again. Sure maybe Mrs. Valenti was a little too pushy and definitely a little too sexual towards him for his liking, but if she could make Len turn sour like that then it was almost worth it. _Almost._

“Good, Barry. Now how about something you like to do together with Leonard.”

“Right—together.” The question was giving him difficulty because he couldn’t exactly say that all he and Len did prior to this was fight and try to kill each other. But then again, why did he care so much that he say something that made sense? None of this was real, and he wished he’d stop forgetting that.

“Well—I guess—Len and I we go to sketchy bars sometimes and just sit and talk. It’s one of the few times that we get to ourselves without business getting in the way.” It was sort of true. He did go to Saints and Sinners that one time, and he and Len hadn’t actually tried to fight each other.

Barry looked over at Len who was unusually stoic as he stared right back at him. His piercing blue eyes gazing intently at him feel like he’d said something wrong, but Len gave no indication one way or another.

“Good. Now Leonard, can you tell me a trait of Barry’s that you admire or like most about him?”

Len’s expression was still completely unreadable, and Barry braced himself for whatever underhanded compliment he was going to use this time.

“Sure thing, doc. With Barry, I admire his tenacity. He never gives up no matter what he’s faced with. Even if the odds are completely stacked against him, he keeps going.”

Barry felt his chest tighten up. That wasn’t the comment he’d been expecting. Even if it Len didn’t mean it, it was still a surprisingly nice thing to say about him.

“That’s very good, Leonard. And I want to compliment you and Barry on your yoga. You two seem very in sync with one another,” Dr. James complimented.

That brought a blush to Barry’s face that he couldn’t hide because right now he was currently locking wrists with Len. He and Len, in sync? He had definitely heard it all.

For the rest of the hour Barry sat and listened to the other couples sharing things they liked and disliked about one another, a few more times he and Len had been forced to come up with other things about themselves, but each time Len surprised him with a positive comment that didn’t have any hidden meaning behind it.

Len had complimented his looks, his intelligence, and apparently had revealed that he enjoyed playing games with him, which he figured was true since they enjoyed the whole hero versus villain thing they had going on. On his end, he did the same, complimenting anything and everything he could think of, while claiming that Len’s lack of attention was frustrating to him. The whole domestic feel of it still left a weird feeling in his stomach.

Throughout the yoga session though he also learned that Len was ridiculously flexible for a man his age. There wasn’t a pose that Len couldn’t seem to manage, and even with Barry struggling to keep up, Len didn’t let that deter him at all. What was worse was that each pose progressively brought their bodies closer together and entwined them more. He had already accidentally saw Len naked this morning, and while the image of his naked body was a faint memory right now, constantly seeing the outline of Len’s cock in his sweatpants had brought the memory back in full.

“Alright, everyone, I think that’s enough for our first activity,” Dr. James announced.

With a sigh of relief, Barry untangled himself from the current position he was in with Len, one leg awkwardly wrapped over the other and their arms entwined awkwardly.

When they were untangled, he watched as Len turned his attention directly to the Bakers. Barry hadn’t paid much attention to them, instead focusing on the Valentis like Len instructed, but obviously Len had an idea in mind, and whatever it was it involved the Baker’s.

“So, I wanted to say good job everyone. Each of you did very well in stretching your bodies and strengthening the silent communication between you and your partner,” Ashely congratulated. “But like Dr. James said, one couple did just a little bit better than the rest, and that couple is… Barry and Leonard!”

Everyone applauded Barry and Len, and Barry felt as if he’d fallen into an alternate universe somehow. Never in his life would he have believed that he and Leonard Snart would win a challenge for doing yoga, nor would he have imagined that they would be okay being so close to each other and so okay with it.

“For doing so well, you two have won a free massage tomorrow with our private masseuses!” Ashley added.

Barry laughed nervously while Len had the smallest hint of a smirk on his face.

“Alright, you all have about an hour for downtime to relax and get changed, and then I’ll meet you all down here at the gate to take you to our next activity,” Dr. James said.

The couples all stood up, and Barry saw Dr. James turning to converse with Ashley about something, and he realized that they had a very small window of time to get that key card before Dr. James walked away.

“Any ideas on getting that key card?” he asked.

Len turned a calculating smile towards him, and Barry felt an instant wave of dread swell throughout him.

“Just watch,” Len said.

Len sauntered over to where the Bakers were standing side by side, and Barry could see their body language was still just as tense as it was when he first saw them. Both of the Bakers looked ready to fight and argue, and he had a feeling that Len going over there was only going to further agitate that situation.

“Loved your story about how you like to garden to relax, Glenda. I’ve been dying to get Barry to take up gardening with me, but he just won’t get on board,” Len said, his voice sickly-sweet with false approval.

Mrs. Baker’s tight-lipped grimace loosened up a little, and Barry rolled his eyes.

“You’re so sweet, Leonard. I wish Rodney was more like you. Gardening is a great past time. It’s a shame that Rodney and Barry won’t consider trying it,” Mrs. Baker replied, clearly not sensing Len’s honeyed words.

Mr. Baker’s expression grew darker and his body language even tenser all of a sudden.

“But hey, don’t worry Rodney, I liked your story too. Gotta love a man who likes hunting and shooting. I’m partial to the Winchester model 1894 hunting rifle myself.”

Rodney smirked, and now Mrs. Baker scowled in disapproval, and it hit Barry all of a sudden what Len was doing. He was playing the Baker’s against each other to start a fight.

“Good to know _someone_ around here appreciates the art of hunting and firearms. It’s been a damn shame not having someone around to sit and shoot the breeze with” Mr. Baker said, directing his taunt right at his wife.

“Well maybe if you would compromise every once in a while and do something that I wanted to do, then maybe I would join you at your stupid, little gun shows!” Mrs. Baker accused.

Len backed away, his job complete as he watched the Baker’s devolve into animated argument with one another. For an older group of people both of them were very loud and somewhat terrifying, but he remembered that Mr. Baker was in the military and Mrs. Baker was a military wife. Both were terrifying in their own right.

“Maybe if you did something other than sit outside and water to those goddamned plants while gossiping with the neighbors about me then maybe I’d want to do something with you!” Mr. Baker yelled back at her.

The ruckus immediately attracted the attention of Dr. James who quickly flocked over to bickering couple along with the other couples to stop the argument from progressing even further. Barry just stood utterly stupefied at how quickly Len had manipulated the situation, and after a few moments Len was walking back to him, a satisfied grin on his face.

“Never thought I’d say this, but I think we get along better than all the other people in this sad group,” Len commented coolly.

“Did you really just instigate an argument between the Bakers?” Barry inquired.

“Necessary evil. We needed a distraction and the Bakers were the best option. It was either them or the Valenti’s, and let’s just say my methods would’ve been much different if I was dealing with them.”

So Len definitely didn’t like Mrs. Valenti. He was going to file that away in the back of his mind for later.

The Baker’s argument didn’t seem to show any signs of tapering off even with the intervention of Dr. James and the other couples, and Barry felt bad for them.

“I hope this was worth it,” he sighed.

Len reached in his pocket and quickly flashed Barry a card with Dr. James’ name and an ID number on it which he quickly discerned was the key card they so desperately needed. Len quickly shoved it back in his pocket. Barry watched as Len laced up his shoes and stood facing Barry with a half amused grin. 

“Well, Barry, looks like you and I are going to have a little bit of fun tonight.” Len stalked off back towards their room, completely ignoring the argument that was finally starting to calm nearby.

“Not nearly as much fun as you think, Snart,” Barry sighed, opting to follow at a more casual pace, giving only a small look of sympathy at the Baker’s situation. I guess if it meant saving Central City, ruining one couple’s relationship was worth the sacrifice, right?


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Len hatches his plan to get into the file, and while things go smooth for the most part a sudden move by Barry instills an interesting idea into Len's mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait on the update! Now that I've taken care of two other WIPs that I've had for a while, I can dedicate all my time to this fic! Thanks for all the comments and kudos! I really do appreciate all the support! 
> 
> Oh and here's my [Tumblr](http://halzbarry.tumblr.com/) if anyone wants to chat about the fic. Also if anyone's interested I might be looking for someone to help make sure I'm keeping this story on the right track so if anyone's interested possibly send me a message!

This entire day had seemed like one giant joke to Len, but at least he could say he’d been amused. His amusement, of course, was mostly due to Barry. From the minute he heard those lewd breaths fall from his mouth in the shower, to his utter fascination with Len’s flexibility, Barry had served to be a much-needed distraction that kept him from wanting to freeze everything in this ridiculous resort. Seeing him in fitting grey sweatpants had been a nice little plus too.

But still, all this talk of love, communication, and trust was starting to make him sick to his stomach. But if he was being somewhat honest with himself, a big portion of that was due to the fact that he was having to pretend that he had these _things_ with Barry. Now he could easily admit that Barry was a good-looking kid. Barry’s Flash suit had done a good job of highlighting the _assets_ the kid had, and there were times where he didn’t exactly mind taking a dip in the Barry-pond so to speak.

But what was happening now was actually starting to confuse and irritate him. For the last couple of months, he’d somewhat been focused on the differences between him and Barry, and why it was that Barry seemed to get to him in ways that no one else had. Barry was naïve and always trying to do the right thing while he was determined to do what he wanted, whether the law agreed or not.

And no matter how much he tried to convince himself that he could care less for Barry and that he would eliminate him if he kept trying to interfere with his plans, he knew that he’d never go through with it. That’s why making up these reasons why he cared about Barry for these stupid exercises was getting harder because there was a small hint of truth to it.

He knew it, Mick and Lisa knew it, and if they stayed here much longer, Barry was bound to figure it out too. That was why he had to keep using the threat of revealing Barry’s secret identity as a bargaining chip. If he didn’t, all the leverage he had with Barry would be gone, that would put him in the powerless position.

The rest of their day after the morning yoga session had been nothing more than a ridiculous amount of small activities centered on sharing personal stories with the group, or in his and Barry’s case, lying. After the Baker’s blow-up, which he did feel slightly bad for causing, Dr. James called a mandatory kiss and tell session to ease the tensions between all the couples. For Len that meant sharing short, quick kisses with Barry even more times than he had planned to.

The only consolation was seeing the bright red in Barry’s cheeks every time they pulled apart from their kiss. But soon the hesitation before each kiss had just vanished. The two of them would instead kiss almost as if they had been doing it naturally for years, and that was just plain odd.

Thankfully, they were back in the dining hall with all the rest of the group eating tonight’s dinner of lasagna, pasta, and garlic bread in silence. The only thing he had to worry about now was not reaching across the table to fight Lorelei Valenti for shamelessly ogling Barry in front of him and her husband, who seemed blissfully unaware.

“So, since today is apparently all about sharing, why don’t we all share something more personal about ourselves, like our favorite vacation spot… or our favorite bedroom activity?” Lorelei suggested, directing a lascivious look at Barry before sticking a bite of lasagna into her mouth.

Len narrowed his eyes on her immediately. For a couple’s retreat, Lorelei was clearly leaving nothing to the imagination, wearing a tight enough shirt with a cut low enough to show she wasn’t wearing a bra, and her face was caked with make-up. All of that coupled with the fact that she was leering at Barry when she spoke, surprisingly had Len’s blood pressure rising.

If she wasn’t careful, his next plan was going to be how to get rid of her.

“Bedroom activity? That sounds a little… personal, don’t you think?” Jennifer Anderson asked, a light blush creeping into her cheeks.

“Oh don’t worry, hon. We’ll all be sharing our dirty little secrets soon anyways. Wednesday is all about sexual compatibility, so what you don’t say today will end up being said then. And we’ll keep it light and fun, nothing too deep.”

Len watched as the rest of the table squirmed in their seats, Barry included, which was what he figured she was after.

But two could play at that game. If she wanted to hear some made up stories about Barry and Len’s bedroom activities then he could do that, especially if it would shut her up.

“How about you go first, Barry,” Lorelei suggested.

Barry perked up, and Len could see the bright red start to creep into his cheeks which in any other moment he would’ve found mildly entertaining, but knowing the cause it just irritated him.

“Oh—uh—how about you go first, just so I know what you’re talking about,” Barry sheepishly replied.

“Nonsense. You and Len seem like you have a very interesting sex life. I’m curious to see how we all compare to you two.”

Len glared at her, but she seemed content to ignore the hate-filled eyes pointed in her direction, instead keeping her gaze intently focused on Barry. Barry, however, was saved when his phone started vibrating causing him to look down at it and immediately jump up from the table.

“Sorry, this is urgent,” he apologized before disappearing out of the dining hall.

“Such a shame. I was looking forward to hearing what he had to say,” Lorelei sighed.

Len groaned and could feel his glaring worsen. “Oh don’t worry, Lorelei. Barry’s just shy about those things. I can assure you, he and I have a very exciting sex life. He’s very adventurous for a twenty-six-year-old, and has found some very unique items to keep us both very entertained for hours.”

Each word he made sure to say as smoothly and emotionlessly as possible, staring directly into her eyes so she could she how serious he was.

“My my. It looks like Glen and I could probably get some tips from you two then,” she said, smirking right back at him, completely unconcerned at his glaring.

The rest of the table seemed uncomfortable, especially the Bakers who seemed to tense up even more than they had during the yoga session. He wanted to continue though until he broke that smug grin from Lorelei’s face, but, like Barry, his phone began vibrating and distracted him. For the sake of not giving up in his war against Lorelei he’d considered ignoring it, but he saw his sister’s name flash across the screen and decided against it.

“You’ll have to excuse me,” he said, only so happy to be away from this rag tag group of people. He hit the answer button and slowly made his way outside the dining hall as well only to find no sign of Barry.

“You must really miss me if I’m hearing from you twice in one day,” he greeted his sister.

“Quite the opposite, Lenny. You failed to tell me that this job was going to be so—boring,” Lisa chided on the other end of the line.

Easy wasn’t exactly the word he was expecting, but if anyone was going to be bored helping eliminate mutated meta-humans it would be her.

“What? Getting the chance to turn meta-humans into gold statues not fun enough for you now?”

“You didn’t tell me it was going to be this easy. The poor thing hardly put up a fight. That little uptight doctor the Flash keeps around would’ve been more exciting to deal with.”

“Well I apologize for not explaining the job description accurately. You just need to keep those meta-humans under control until the Flash and I figure out where they’re coming from,” Len replied.

“Speaking of the Flash, have you two started canoodling yet? Mick and I have a lot of money riding on when you two will start doing something about that suffocating sexual tension, and I could use some extra spending cash.”

“Well both of you are going to lose. The Flash and I aren’t going to be canoodling or banging each other, so keep those thoughts and any thoughts about my sex life out of your head,” he argued. The words were hypocritical, especially since he’d just imagined Barry naked and jerking off this morning. In his defense, that was exactly what Barry had been doing, but he didn’t need to remember that he got hard himself thinking about it.

“You keep telling yourself that, Lenny.”

Len huffed and rolled his eyes as if she could see him. “Don’t you have your own nerd back in S.T.A.R. Labs to attend to?”

“Poor little Cisco wore himself out trying to stop that meta-human. Seems his little prototype antidote didn’t work, so now he’s sulking on the phone somewhere in the lab where I can’t find him,” Lisa said with feigned disappointment.

He snickered at that. He already had a feeling Cisco was the one that Barry was on the phone with now given his earlier call to alert him to the meta-humans’ arrival in Central City. “More time for you to go poking around the lab and find something valuable to steal.”

“If you’re not thinking about the Flash, you’re thinking about stealing something. You’re so predictable, Lenny.”

“If I don’t think about what next to steal then who will? Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a fake boyfriend to find, and an office full of files to break into.”

Lisa sighed. “Have fun _not_ boning the Flash.”

She hung up before he could say something back to her, but before he could even put the phone down  a gust of wind smacked him in the face and Barry with very windswept and disheveled hair was standing in front of him.

“I thought you said no super speed,” he commented.

Barry shoved the phone still in his hand back in his pocket before walking up to him. “Everyone’s in the dining hall, so I figured I could get away with it this time.”

“Still risky, kid.” Barry glared at being called kid, but Len slowly folded his arms and sighed. “So, what did your friend Cisco have to say?”

“He said the antidote didn’t work, and because of your sister’s gold gun, they can’t extract anymore DNA to test from this meta-human.”

Len shrugged. “Unless you’re starting to grow an evil streak and are upset that she killed it, I’d say it’s better dead in a block of gold rather than destroying half the city.”

Barry scoffed but with a smirk. “You wish I was growing an evil streak.”

Len grinned. “Once upon a time I did, but you’re too fun of an adversary now. You start turning to the dark side, I’m gonna have to do something about it before I get bored again.”

His words seemed to amuse Barry, but it this was also the first time he’d really honed in on Barry’s facial features. His hazel-green eyes were bright and hypnotic, gazing at him with both judgment and curiosity, and his lips were shiny and slick from where he most likely had licked them. Sure he’d noticed the kid’s face before. Hell, he’d now even kissed him. But now he was really noticing him, and there was something both intriguing and frightening.

“See something you like, _Lenny_?” Barry teased.

“Oh I do, but that’s neither here nor there. What we need to focus on is getting into that office and looking at those files tonight before your meta problem rears its ugly head again.” Len could tell Barry was caught off-guard by the slight admission that he was eyeing him, but rather than keep teasing him he wanted to hurry this dinner along so he could start making a plan to get into that office tonight. “C’mon. The longer we stay out here, the more suspicious the group will get, and I don’t need _her_ thinking you and I were up off sucking face somewhere.”

Barry snickered at that and Len glared again.

“You really hate Lorelei don’t you?”

“Hate doesn’t begin to describe my feelings. Now let’s go.”

Barry smirked smugly, and Len felt his irritation rising. He wasn’t sure why it bothered him that Barry knew she got under his skin, but if past experience had taught him anything, Barry would find a way to use this information to annoy him somehow.

 

********************

 

When Barry turned the key and opened the door to their bedroom roughly an hour later, Len wouldn’t have minded the opportunity to just crash on the couch for an hour or so, but the need to make some sort of leeway into their mystery meta-human case forced him to start planning their next step.

Barry, however, was quick to do just that, and collapsed onto the couch and sprawled out, throwing off his glasses quickly.

“No falling asleep. We’ve got a very short window of time to get into that office before the good doctor realizes his extra keycard is missing,” Len advised as he moved to the kitchen table and pulled out the packet of information he and Barry were given when they first checked in.

“Just a few minutes. That’s all I need,” Barry said.

“For a kid who spend his free time running around the city in a leather suit, you’ve got pretty low stamina,” Len mocked.

Barry grumbled something under his breath on the couch and Len smirked.

“I don’t have low stamina. I’m just worn out dealing with all this couples and therapy stuff.” And it was true.

He could admit, dealing with these couples had practically become a chore. The rest of their dinner consisted of playing Lorelei’s stupid game until Dr. James did some small group therapy with all them and discussed tomorrow’s therapeutic activities, which included learning to give massages or something nonsensical like that.

Len was no stranger to dysfunctional relationships given his own sordid family history, but it was still exhausting have to suffocate through the awkward tension between these couples. It was even worse dealing with the tension of a much different nature with Barry.

“Well get it together. We need to make sure we can get an undisturbed look at those files tonight, and it’s going to take both of us to do it.”

“Right, because you’re so incapable of breaking in and taking stealing the files yourself,” Barry said as he sat up and walked over to the kitchen table.

Len was flipping through the papers but snickered to himself. “Jealous that I can get things done without super speed?” Barry scowled, and Len once again found himself endeared by Barry’s pouting. “It’ll be more fun with company, so relax, Barry.”

That didn’t seem to budge Barry’s scowl, but Len was more than okay with that.

Len laid a map of the resort out on the table before putting the stack of papers he’d been busy looking through down beside it.

“So, what are we looking for?” Barry asked.

“Right now, anything that can tell us when the security guards make their rounds.”

Barry raised an eyebrow. “Wait, there’s security guards here?”

Len really needed to remind himself that Barry would make a horrible thief if he ever required the kid’s services.

“First step in pulling off a _successful_ heist: always case and know your environment. A place like this where people with money come to profess their relationship woes is sure to be full of valuables that people don’t want stolen, hence why they have security guards that walk the perimeter at night,” Len explained before handing Barry the piece of paper that stated exactly that.

Barry scanned over the piece of paper before looking back up at Len. “So, the security guards start rounds in an hour. That doesn’t give us much time to get in does it?”

“Very little. We have to be in the right place at the right time for this to work. And since we have absolutely zero information to go off of right now, we’re going to scope out their route before the curfew starts,” Len commanded.

“I still can’t believe we have a curfew,” Barry said.

“C’mon, Barry, use your head. You have a bunch of people with relationship and martial issues out at secluded resort surrounded by a very dense forest. I may not be the greatest expert on relationships, but even I can tell that sounds like a recipe for disaster,” Len replied.

Barry pondered it for a moment and eventually just shrugged. “I guess when you put it like that it makes sense.”

“Glad we agree. Now go get ready and change into something more comfortable. We’re going to be busy for the rest of the night.” Barry rolled his eyes and started to walk back towards the bedroom. “Oh, and if you need to masturbate again, just give me a heads up.”

Barry really scowled at him this time, and used his speed to disappear into the bathroom where he could hear the door to the toilet slam shut.

Maybe one of these days he’d get tired of teasing Barry so much, but as it stood today wasn’t it. So, he went back to planning how this break-in operation would go and trying very hard not to imagine that Barry was in the bathroom masturbating right now.

He really didn’t need to prove Lisa right that he was attracted to Barry and wanted to do all sorts of things to him. But every moment was proving to be harder to resist the temptation.

 

********************

 

“So how much longer do we have to sit and watch the security guards walk around?” Barry complained as he sat fidgeting in his seat.

“Patience, Barry. The key to a successful heist is making sure you know every inch of your target’s security,” Len reminded him. He pointed at one security guard who was rounding the office building they were currently scoping out. “If you’ve been paying enough attention you’ll realize that it takes him approximately fifteen and a half minutes to get right back to that spot which means we have about half that time to get in there without him knowing.”

“I can’t believe you figured all that out just from watching him walk around.”

Len rolled his eyes. By now he would’ve thought Barry had caught on to the fact that he planned things down to the very minute, second, and moment. He wasn’t this successful of a thief because of pure dumb luck.

“So when do we make our move?” Barry inquired further.

Len looked down at his watch that showed it was approaching eight which was when the curfew went into effect. If they were going to make their move, it would have to be soon before the security were on the lookout for the two of them. He looked up and saw the security guard looking in their direction. Len nodded his head in greeting and looked over to Barry subtly.

“Right now. Stand up and act like we’re talking. Once he notices us looking like we’re about to leave he’ll keep moving,” he commanded.

They both stood up together and Len took Barry’s hand, and he found himself annoyed how he could feel Barry tense up and then immediately relax. The fact that Barry was somehow learning to relax around him though was the annoying part.

“Act like we’re walking back to our room and don’t look back at all,” he instructed next.

Barry nodded, and they took a few steps back towards their building. Len stopped first when after roughly a half a minute of slow walking, and slowly he looked back to see that the guard was no longer there.

“Coast is clear. We need to get to the door as quickly and quietly as possible.”

“Leave that to me,” Barry offered.

Before Len could question what was about to happen he felt himself lifted up off the ground and the next second he found himself standing in front of the door to the office.

“Really, Barry? Starting now, super speed is off limits unless absolutely necessary,” Len said with a sharp tone.

“It got us to the front door quickly and quietly didn’t it,” Barry snipped.

Len rolled his eyes and reached into his pocket to fish out the stolen key card before swiping it into the card reader. The red light beeped and turned green, and slowly, Len opened the door sliding inside and holding it open for Barry to slide in behind him.

The door shut quietly, and Len and Barry found themselves inside the dark office and reception area where they had first checked in. The only light source in the entire building was from the glow from the lampposts outside the window. But they didn’t need light to find their destination since the door to what Len assumed was the main office and file room was tucked away behind the reception desk.

“So, we just need to get inside the office,” Barry said.

“Exactly. We get in, get the information we need, and get out as quickly as possible. Like most security, they’re probably supposed to do interior checks every round, but most likely only do it once or twice. We just need to be out before they decide to come inside because I’d rather you not ruin my record of getting caught,” Len replied.

“Don’t you mean second time getting caught? Don’t forget we caught you and Rory once already,” Barry taunted.

Len scowled and folded his arms. “So you think, but we never actually made it to prison now did we?”

“Still counts, _Lenny_.”

There was something provocative about the way his name rolled off Barry’s tongue when he was teasing him that sent a spark through his body. It still bothered him slightly that Barry just saying his name could affect him so much, but he pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind and pushed past Barry towards the file room door.

The door, too, was secured by a card swipe system, so he quickly swiped Dr. James’ card through the system and heard the door click open. He flipped the light and found that the room was a larger than expected office with fairly large four-drawer file cabinets lining the back wall, a large copy and fax machine, and a desk with a computer at the front of it. 

“Great. Looks like they keep a record of just about every person that comes through here. It’ll take us too long to go through each one,” Len grumbled.

Barry just shrugged, and in the blink of an eye, Len watched Barry speed to the file cabinets and open each one of them, pulling out files and reading the contents of each file before either returning them to the cabinet or creating a pile on the floor. He was moving so fast Len could only barely make out the sounds of the cabinets being open and shut, and if there wasn’t a growing pile of files lying on the floor he almost wouldn’t have known Barry was even doing anything.

Eventually Barry slowed down and looked nearly exhausted having read through what Len figured was close to a few hundred files. But Barry had done a decent job, whittling down the massive volume of files to what looked like only thirty or so. 

“Alright, those are anyone who had either some sort of background in science or medicine, or anyone who had any criminal history on file.”

“A little too show-offish for my tastes, but not bad. I guess I was wrong about you being bad at this sneaking and entering thing after all,” Len said with a smirk. “Now, let’s take a look at these and see what we can find.”

Barry seemed confused by his words and shot Len a perplexed look. “Isn’t it risky staying here to look through these files?”

“It’s even riskier taking this many back to the room. Too many missing files are bound to attract some unwanted attention. We take no more than five and that’s it. That shouldn’t raise too many questions.” Len picked up half the stack and handed them to Barry, who took them with a heavy sigh. “Start reading. We pull anyone that looks overly suspicious, and then get your little friends at S.T.A.R. Labs to look into them.”

“And what counts as overly suspicious?” Barry asked with a heavy eye roll.

Len smirked. “You’re the CSI, Barry. I’m sure you’re more than capable of picking out the bad ones. You caught me after all didn’t you?”

Barry’s smug smirk and bright hazel-green eyes had Len staring, but he quickly rescinded his attention to the remaining files in his hands. He needed to work on this bizarre attraction that was now strongly developing between him and Barry before it threatened to interfere with the mission.

Len took his stack of files, sat himself down at the lone desk, and started reading through them while intentionally trying to ignore Barry’s presence. There was silence in the room for a few minutes, and Len had been able to discard two files of people who seemed highly unlikely to their culprit.

“I wasn’t showing off you know,” he interjected, interrupting his reading.

“You’re still on that?” Len grumbled, eyes shifting up towards Barry who just shrugged. “I know showing off when I see it, Barry. Just admit, you wanted to impress me,” Len countered.

Barry snorted with a disdainful grin strewn across his lips, and, for a brief moment, Len had a very strange urge to kiss that smile off his face, and he had to stop himself because when had this become an issue?

“Just keep reading. The guards will probably start their indoor rounds soon,” Len said, turning back to the papers in front of him.

The problem was, even though they had access to all these files, there wasn’t really much of a way to truly eliminate their suspects. As he’d been learning with meta-humans lately, they could be ruthless and evil like Mark Mardon, or gentle and frustratingly good like Barry. There was no way to differentiate, and as her perused each file it was becoming apparent they wouldn’t be able to decide this alone. They were going to have to write down every name at this point and let S.T.A.R. Labs do a more thorough investigation.

He pushed another file aside ready to give up when he opened the page to see someone he recognized. In fact, not only was it someone he recognized, but it was the same someone whose name had come to mind when he’d talked to Santini.

“Well what do we have here?” Len said.

Barry looked up and made his way over, dropping the file he’d been reading through on the floor. Barry crowded right into Len’s space, hovering over him as he scanned the information in the file, and Len was finding it difficult to focus when Barry’s sweater was riding up just enough to expose his taut and tight abs that he couldn’t seem to look away from.

“Alexander Petrov. I know that name! He’s a CSI with Keystone PD. I’ve read some of his reports before when we had similar cases at the CCPD. Don’t tell me you know him,” Barry exclaimed.

“I’ve had a few run-ins with Petrov myself, and I can assure you he’s more than just a CSI,” Len replied. He scanned the file to see when Petrov had supposedly been here, and found that Petrov had been here recently. In fact, he’d been here a little too recently. “Tell me again when this little meta problem of yours started up.”

“About three weeks ago. Why?”

“Seems our friend Petrov here was a resident at Garden of Hope exactly one month ago, putting him here right around that same time.”

He was confident that they wouldn’t need to waste any more time in here. Barry might not be aware of who the real Alexander Petrov is, but he did, and if Petrov’s name was floating around here then that spelled bad news for everyone.

“We’ve got what we need. Let’s get out of here,” he advised.

“Wait, we’re just going with that one guy? What about all the other people? I mean, any one of them could be behind this,” Barry argued.

“Trust me. Alexander Petrov is bad news. And if he’s involved you won’t need to look at anyone else. Now let’s go.”

Barry stared at him for a minute, but after a minute Len watched as Barry used his speed to put all the files back into the cabinets, leaving only the one that Len was now holding.

“Alright. I put everything back the way we found it.”

“Good. Now let’s split before the security rounds inside.”

Len cut the light to the office and cracked the door open slowly, poking his head outside the make sure no one had come in since they’d be searching.

“Coast is clear. When we get outside we run for the cabin as fast as we can,” he whispered back to Barry.

He pushed the door open and slowly moved to the door leading outside, crouching right before it with Barry standing close behind him. It was almost too close, but there was no time to dispute that. He mentally counted to three before slowly pushing the door open to feel the cool rush of the nighttime air, and slowly he slipped outside, holding the door open just enough for Barry to slink out too before letting it shut gently.

Len turned to Barry and nodded as his signal to move, and the two of them darted as quietly as they could back towards their room. It was almost too lucky that they hadn’t come across any of the security guards, the few that they did instead too far off to notice them, and he prayed that they could get back without any issues. They hopped the gate to the courtyard and Len sprinted to the cabin, only stopping when a guard had rounded the corner.

He wasn’t completely sure if Barry was still behind him, the adrenaline rush of the moment keeping him dead focused on getting back to their room only. But then he felt someone grab his arm and he was quickly aware of Barry’s presence behind him.

“Wait!” Barry halted.

They were only a few yards away from the back entrance into their building, and with just another minute or two of running they could make it back. But Barry held tight to his arm, and as he heard footsteps not belonging to getting closer he could feel his anger level rising.  

“Unless you’re just absolutely dying to see me get angry, you’d better let me go,” he growled.

“There’s two security guards around the corner. If we keep running they’ll see us with the file and the keycard and know we’re up to something,” Barry hurriedly whispered.

He was unfortunately right as much he hated to admit it. He could now see the flashlights the guards carried shining right around the corner they needed to go around to get inside, and he could hear voices talking and getting closer.

“Damn. No chance you can use your speed to get us out of this?” Len scoffed as he turned to Barry.

The outdoor lights lit Barry’s face up enough that Len could see he was thinking very hard about something, and seemed very conflicted about whatever it was. With a sigh, Barry, in a surprising, swift move pushed Len up against the wall of the building, taking the file out of his hands and tucking it away in Len’s jacket.

“What the hell?” Len growled, struggling against Barry’s grip.

“Just follow my lead!” Barry urged.

Len had no time protest before Barry crowded his space and crushed their lips together in a kiss so rough Len felt his lips might split. He couldn’t tell if it was Barry’s surprising strength or his brain’s sudden inability to relay messages to the rest of his body that kept him standing still and limp in Barry’s grip, but he felt almost helpless as Barry’s tongue slipped inside his mouth and teeth started nibbling on his bottom lip.

He could faintly tell the guards were very close now and would see them any moment, but that fear of being caught was replaced with the realization that there were fingers slowly digging inside the hem of his pants.  

He had to admit, Barry’s kissing ability was something spectacular and not at all expected. His lips were soft but demanding as they devoured his own. This was well beyond the simple kisses they’d had to fake during those obnoxious kissing and telling sessions. Barry’s tongue slid across his and hungrily tasted and explored every inch of his mouth.

The sensation overload was enough that Len could feel blood rushing south creating a very uncomfortable tent in his pants. The only consolation was that he was pretty sure he could feel Barry’s erection sliding against him as well. And though the air was cold, the heat from Barry’s body was enough that he felt a bead of sweat start to form on his brow.

“Hey! You two!” he heard someone yell out.

Barry broke their lips apart and pulled his fingers free from Len’s pants, and Len swore if he had his cold gun right now he would’ve struggled very hard not to freeze whoever had interrupted them. Two bright lights were now flashing on his and Barry’s faces, and Len winced but could make out two very shocked and slightly embarrassed security guards. And that’s when it had hit him. This was Barry’s plan all along.

“Oh—sorry—Len and I…. we—uh—we were just out for a late night walk,” Barry apologized emphatically, stuttering as though he hadn’t planned this all along.

The guard standing in front turned to the other as if to get some assistance with the situation, but even the other guard was at a loss for words and looked as if he wished he could be anywhere else but here.

Barry was a clever bastard, and he really was going to have to remember this the next time he decided to go up against him.

“Uh—we can see that. You two know there’s a curfew right?” one of the guards asked.

“Yeah, sorry. We just sort of lost track of time,” Barry replied.

Len really needed them to get out of here primarily because he needed to get from where he and Barry’s very noticeable erections were still touching.

“We did,” Len drawled. “Barry here is very good a distracting me from what time it is. We’re sorry for the trouble. Our room is just right upstairs, so we’ll get out of your hair,” he added, hoping to make the guards even more uncomfortable so that they could wrap this up quickly.

“Oh—okay. Well—you know—since this is a first offense and all, we won’t need to call the counselors or anything. Just—uh—be more mindful of the curfew next time,” the other guard explained.

“We will. Good night, gentlemen,” Len remarked before walked past the guards. He hadn’t been sure who’d beat a hastier retreat, them or the security guards, who had taken off the second the two of them had passed them, but they quickly made their way inside the cabin.

“I can’t believe that worked,” Barry sighed in relief as the doors to the elevator closed.

“I’ll admit your little plan worked. Gotta say you sold the performance very well. I didn’t think you could suck face like that,” Len teased with a smirk. His mind was still reeling from the very surprising kiss, and any urge to argue with Barry for getting into his space like that had all but melted away. All that he was left with now was a very poorly timed erection which had left him feeling very vulnerable.

As he looked over at Barry though he could see he was still suffering from the same problem which now begged the question of whether they both had enjoyed what just happened.

The rest of the elevator ride was silent, and it gave Len time to think.

Clearly, there was an attraction on his end to Barry, begrudgingly, but it still existed. And now he had confirmation that Barry might quite possibly be attracted to him too, and to be honest there had been signs for a while now. He could admit that if there wasn’t something more going on between him and Barry he’d probably be in jail now. But the longer he thought about it, the more a dangerously exciting idea danced around in his constantly moving mind.

Maybe—just maybe—he might be able to convince Barry to blow off some steam while they’re here. The attraction between them was undeniable now especially after what just happened, and both he and Barry could use the stress-relief especially in the midst of all this meta-human drama.

The issue would be getting Barry on board, and making sure neither Mick or Lisa ever caught wind of this. He’d never live it down if they did. 

“Hello? Earth to Len?” Barry called out, disrupting his thoughts. When he looked up Barry was holding the elevator doors open with a disgruntled expression. Len just smirked back and stepped out of the elevator. “What are you plotting this time?” Barry questioned.

“Nothing important right now,” Len answered as he waited for Barry to open the door to their room. Once it was open he quickly walked to the bedroom, throwing he file on the bed before discarding his jacket. “I’m jumping in the shower,” he called out.

“Not fair! I was going to take a shower,” Barry grumbled.

Len turned back to him and smirked. “You’re welcome to join me.”

Len watched as Barry turned a bright shade of red and looked as if someone had just slapped him in the face. He could practically see the gears in Barry’s brain struggling to turn and think of something to say, and while it was amusing he also noted that ‘no’ hadn’t come flying out of Barry’s mouth yet. Instead, Barry had settled for scowling and walking off, the flush of his cheeks still there as he disappeared out of sight.

Len snickered before disappearing into the bathroom and starting the shower. As the rest of his clothes were discarded he realized he was still very aroused from kissing Barry. Plus the mission was successful, so a little bit of pleasure was a fair reward since he couldn’t celebrate the way he wanted to… _yet._ And with this new plan in mind, he figured he could unabashedly jerk off and think of all the sinful things he wanted to do to Barry—would do to Barry if he could get Barry to go along with this new idea of his.

Sure there was someone out there creating meta-humans and destroying Central City, and the mission was of course top priority, especially now that he possibly had a name to go along with their meta-human problem. But he had been given a rare opportunity that he would be stupid not to take advantage of. He and Barry were drawn to each other in more ways than one, and after tonight he was going to find some creative ways to explore and test that attraction.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry desperately tries to make sense of the kiss while ignoring the reasoning behind it, and a weird sleeping arrangement and activity leads a surprising agreement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! Hope you all enjoy the latest chapter!

The couch was comfortable, and or at least Barry kept telling himself that it was. Sure, he would kill to be able to sleep in the bed or any bed since he had a habit of rolling around in his sleep, but he wasn’t sure Len would be amicable to trading places. Also there was the fact that he really wanted to keep his distance from the man at least until his brain would slow down at stop focusing on the fact that he had really kissed Snart.

It wasn’t just a kiss like they ones they’d been forced to share during kissing and telling time. This was a kiss with passion and heat behind it. Sure the idea had come out of necessity in getting out of being caught sneaking around, but he wasn’t sure where the need to make it look and feel so real had come from.

The moment kept replaying in his head like a broken record. He still left the sting from where his cold lips had pressed against Len’s. He could almost still feel where his tongue had slid against Len’s, and he vaguely recalled letting his hand sink underneath the hem of Len’s pants.

He slammed a pillow over his face to stifle the groan he let out. Len was thankfully still in the shower and hopefully completely unaware that he was having an internal crisis right now.

Leonard Snart was a criminal, and not only was he a criminal but he was a murderer too. Sure, he promised not to kill in order to stay on Barry’s good side, but that didn’t change much. So why was it that Barry was having… inexplicable feelings for the man?

Sure, Len was suave and cleaned up very well for a man in his forties. And Snart was, at the very least, intrigued and attracted to him. But that didn’t change the fact that he couldn’t be attracted to Snart because Snart was a bad guy and he was the good guy.

Maybe it was the dry spell he was going through since his almost relationship with Linda, but he was wanting something to fill the void since Iris was off-limits now. But why of all people did his body and brain have to settle for Snart of all people?

He let out a huge sigh and threw the pillow off his face.

He would have to make a pact to himself that no matter what happened, he couldn’t allow himself to slip up like that again. There couldn’t be any more kisses or anything that might reveal that he might possibly be attracted to Leonard Snart.

“You look like you’re thinking hard about something,” he heard Len comment from somewhere behind him.

Barry sat up on the couch, and immediately regretted that decision because standing in front of him was Len wearing nothing more than a towel around his waist. Fate was quite obviously teasing him because he couldn’t seem to look away from Len’s naked torso and followed every defined line of Len’s chest and abs.

“It’s not polite to stare, Barry,” Len mocked smugly with a grin plastered on his face.

Barry groaned and quickly looked away, but not before looking up into Len’s smug face once and realizing that he didn’t seem upset at all that Barry had been, for lack of a better work, ogling him just then. And what was going on in the world that Len, the man whose entire wardrobe at all times seemed to consist of at least three layers had gotten so comfortable being almost completely naked around him?

 “You still haven’t told me anything about Alexander Petrov and why you think he’s our guy,” Barry said, quickly trying to change the subject.

“Right. You still think Petrov is just your average run-of-the-mill CSI,” Len said as he disappeared back into the bedroom, hopefully to change because Barry really didn’t need the distraction. When Len re-emerged though it wasn’t much better. In place of a towel, Len was now wearing sweatpants, but apparently had decided against a shirt which helped matters very little. Barry’s body was starting to take notice and he quickly fidgeted to move a pillow over his groin to hide his growing erection.

“You said that, but you still haven’t explained what it means.”

Len folded his arms before rolling his eyes. “It means Petrov isn’t the good guy you thought he was. The guy’s a crooked cop just like my old man. The only difference is that Petrov didn’t get caught.”

Barry raised an eyebrow and watched as Len sat opposite him in the armchair, one leg folded over the other and completely unbothered by the fact that he was shirtless. 

“So how do you know Petrov is bad?” Barry said, his tone probably sounding more accusatory than it should.

“Petrov and I got acquainted with one another during my forced vacation here in Keystone. The guy was a real sadist. He got off on helping criminals and outwitting his own co-workers, but he was useful and helped me piece together police response times here in Keystone for heists.”

Barry scoffed and rolled his eyes. Of course, Len had done business with the guy. Leave it to Len to have a criminal network in another city.

“Don’t give me that look. You should know by now that I never turn down an opportunity to use someone or something to my advantage.”

“Right. Because people are nothing more than tools to you,” Barry huffed. Hearing Len say that bothered him for some reason. Maybe it was because he was really starting to believe that Len was changing when, in reality, everything seemed to be nothing more than an opportunity to him.

“Did you expect any less from me?” Len said a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Barry just scowled but Len smirked in return, and not just any smirk, but that smirk that belied true amusement getting under Barry’s skin. It always managed to send a chill coursing through Barry’s body, and this time was no exception.

“If you and Petrov did business together, then can’t you just call him up and see if he’s the one behind the whole thing? It’d save us all a lot of time and you and I could pack it up and go home and pretend like this never happened,” Barry suggested.

Len glared, his blue eyes quickly shifting from amused to cold and hard in a mere second, and Barry felt himself shrink a little inside.

“Petrov and I didn’t end on the best of terms. He wanted to be more involved in the heists and get a bigger cut. When I said no he didn’t exactly take it too well. He figured if he showed me how useful he could be I’d change my mind. Let’s just say it didn’t work, and we decided to part ways.”

Something in Len’s eyes read that he wasn’t interested in delving into too much detail, and for the sake of not angering him, Barry didn’t push.

“So you don’t have any idea where Petrov is now possibly?” Barry asked instead.

“Not in the slightest. But with the information I got from Santini and what I know about the guy, I think it’s safe to say he’s your main person of interest,” Len answered.

Barry nodded, and quickly pulled out his phone, typing a quick message to Cisco to look into Alexander Petrov before he forgot to do so in the morning. He figured there wasn’t either of them could do now. They’d gotten the files or file that they needed, and really the next step was to find and confirm that this Tar drug was coming from somewhere in this resort.

A yawn fell out of his mouth and he felt the pull of sleep start to tug at his eyelids. He wasn’t exactly looking forward to sleeping on the couch again, but he didn’t feel like protesting it.  

“You look tired,” Len commented, the amusement in his voice returning.

“It’s been… a long day,” Barry sighed. He stretched out across the couch and shifted around trying to find a comfortable position to lie in, but he was just too long-limbed to really get comfortable. Plus, with the hundreds of things running through his head, namely his reluctant attraction to Len, he was prepared for another restless night.

From behind him he heard what sounded like Len laughing at him, and he grumbled lowly enough that Len couldn’t hear. The guy had a lot of nerve to be laughing at him while he got to sleep in that big comfortable bed.

“Get up, Barry,” Len commanded.

Barry flipped over and sat up, staring confusedly at Len. “What?”

Len stood up and gestured for Barry to do the same with an emotionless expression marring his face and preventing Barry from once again seeing what was going on in Len’s head.

“You look miserable on the couch, and I’m already getting tired of watching you flail around, so get up.”

“Wait, are you giving me the bed?” Barry asked. He knew his voice was too hopeful and cheery and Len rolled his eyes.

“Newsflash, Barry. I’d be just as uncomfortable on that couch as you are, so I’m proposing a different deal. We share the bed.”

Barry’s eyes shot open and he shook his head in protest. “Oh no. I am not sharing a bed with you, Snart.”

“And why is that? Afraid I’ll hog the blanket?”

There were several reasons in Barry’s head why sharing a bed with him was a horrible idea. At the moment though he could only think of one, and that was related to the fact that he was still handling this weird attraction to Len. Sharing a bed with him wouldn’t help in the slightest.

“I—no—it’s just not a good idea,” he stammered, which great.

Len was now smirking, and Barry swore Len knew he had no good reason. If he was unlucky Len might already know the real reason why. He kept forgetting that Len was there for the kiss, and a man as perceptive as he was could probably pick up on things like that.

“Suit yourself, Barry. Feel free to keep rolling around on the couch all night. Invitation’s always open,” Len said walking back to the bedroom. “Good night,” he called back before the lights were turned off, leaving Barry in the dark.

Barry felt back on the couch and sighed, staring up at the ceiling for a few moments. He was in a very bad situation. It was Len himself who had warned Barry about leaving himself open and vulnerable to criminals like him. But here he was—with a weakness and affinity for one of the worst thieves in all of Central City if not the entire world.

He mentally shoved his confusing thoughts and emotions down into the recesses of his brain for now because he needed sleep, or as much as he could get on this couch. But as he closed his eyes and tried to get comfortable, it just wasn’t working. He was too long, and no matter what he did there was no way to stretch his body out the way he needed to.

And more annoying was the fact that there was a giant bed made specifically for two people only a few feet away. All that was standing in his way was Len. He was determined not to break though, and kept shifting to get comfortable.

He stayed like this for five minutes, tossing and turning like a child experiencing his first nightmare.

Enough was enough. He sighed heavily and groaned before getting up off the couch. He knew he was making a mistake doing this, but the idea of actually getting a full night’s sleep and being comfortable was something he desperately craved.

Ever since he started being the Flash, getting a decent night’s sleep was rare, and it was one thing he was hoping to take advantage of here if even just for a night or two, and even Leonard Snart was not going to prevent that from happening.

He’d been on school trips and summer camps before where he’d had to share beds with others for a while, so this shouldn’t be so bad. The only difference was that he was sharing a bed with a thief who stole and occasionally killed for a living. 

He took one last deep breath and prepared himself for the mocking comments Len would throw at him, but thought about the plush bed that awaited him.

He made his way back to the bed where Len was already lying down facing the window, completely motionless. Barry quietly made his way to the other side of the bed, hopeful that maybe Len was already out cold and wouldn’t even notice he was here.

He slowly crawled into the bed and had to stifle the urge to sigh when he felt the plush softness of the mattress. He felt like he was sitting on a cloud as he pulled the blanket back slowly, and he definitely was going to sleep well now.

“Comfortable, Barry,” Len muttered quietly, making Barry’s heart freeze. So much for Len being asleep.

“I just need a night or two of decent sleep. I’ll stay on my side you stay on your side,” Barry quickly and agitatedly replied.

“Whatever, kid. Just hurry up and pull the blanket back down. I was about to fall asleep until you started creeping in here. Remind me that we need to work on your sneaking and creeping skills tomorrow.”

Barry snorted with his typical amused smirk, but did as Len said and slid under the blanket and pulled it back down over him. “That’s definitely not happening.”

Len snorted in amusement, but said nothing more which Barry was thankful for. He lied his head down on the pillows and immediately felt his body relax and drift further into sleep. Sure Len was only a few inches away from him on the bed, and maybe he could feel the man’s body heat just enough that it made him feel—well—comfortable. But the fact of the matter was he was in a soft bed and able to get a decent night’s sleep.

He would be good and well-rested tomorrow, and could really make a dent in this case because that was the goal of this whole thing. Feelings for Snart be damned.

 

********************

 

The sunlight beat through the open window of the bedroom and Barry struggled to keep his eyelids shut to keep the light out. Nevertheless, it was too late as his brain started to function again, slowly, but surely enough. He didn’t remember much other than getting into the bed on the opposite side of Len, but it was extremely worth it because he couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept this well.  

Eventually, the rest of his body caught up to his now functioning brain and he could feel his arms wrapped around something very warm. In fact, his entire body was warm, comfortably warm, but also very unusually warm. Then it had hit him like a ball to the face. He’d fallen asleep facing opposite the window which meant he’d shifted around in his sleep.

He immediately opened his eyes and realized that the warm thing his arm was wrapped around was Len, more specifically, Len’s naked chest. Worse than that was the fact that his face had been and still was buried into the back of Len’s neck. And the cherry on top of this whole situation was the fact that he was now very aware of the morning wood that was tenting through his pajama pants and pressing in Len’s body. 

Very ungracefully, he pulled his arm from around Len and threw himself back off him, making a noise that only be described as a squawk. In the process, he had accidentally pushed Len forward, startling the man awake as he was thrown off the bed and onto the floor.

“What the hell!” Len barked as pulled himself up off the ground with surprising speed.

Barry was on his feet too, but he was staring utterly horrified at what he’d done or had been doing.

He had been spooning Leonard Snart in his sleep.

Len’s anger had surprisingly dissipated slightly, and where there was briefly intense anger there was now just mild agitation combined with intense curiosity.

“You gonna say something, Barry, or do I have to remind you that I was asleep until you decided to kick me off the bed?”

“You—I—uh—did you know I was—umm— spooning you?” Barry said, sounding probably more accusatory than he should since he was the big spoon in the situation.

Len’s expression was completely blank, and Barry wasn’t sure if Len hadn’t realized it either or he was just making sure not to show his true emotions right now.

“Suffice to say, I wasn’t aware since I was asleep, and now thanks to you, I’m wide awake. Besides, I’d rather you spoon me than do all that tossing and turning you’d been doing before. Even in your sleep you can’t sit still,” Len taunted.

Barry could now tell that Len wasn’t nearly as concerned at all that he’d, essentially, been hugging and showing some weird sense of affection towards him all night. That alone made Barry even more nervous and confused.

“Wait… so you’re not angry?”

Len rolled his eyes. “It’s just spooning kid. No harm, no foul. Now if you were trying to get in my pants, that’d be a different story. I’d at least like to be awake for that.”

Len was smirking that devilish smirk now and Barry’s morning wood was standing at full attention now because Leonard Snart definitely just made a sex joke involving them and he seemed almost one hundred percent serious about it too.

Barry’s phone rang somewhere in the living room and he had never been more thankful for a phone call in his entire life. Using his super speed, he dashed into the living room and checked the caller ID to see it was Iris of all people calling. He answered the phone, also becoming aware of just how hot his face was from blushing.

“Hey, Iris?” he answered anxiously.

“So what happened to— _I’m going to call you as soon as I can, Iris_?” she immediately chastised.

Barry sighed. “I know Iris. Things have just been hectic here. I’ve barely had time to call Cisco and see what’s been happening down at S.T.A.R. Labs.”

“I know you’re busy, Barry. But, even a text would’ve been nice. It’s hard not worrying about you when you’re forced to be around Leonard Snart all the time. I can’t imagine how weird it’s gotta be for you.”

Barry turned back to see Len was no longer standing in the bedroom, and Barry breathed a sigh of relief. “You have no idea,” he muttered.

“So, any leads on the meta-humans? Dad, Eddie, and I were going to go down to S.T.A.R. Labs and see if could help out today.”

Barry had learned that while Cisco was good at hacking things and getting information off the internet, Iris too was a valuable information source. Her job at the CCPN had revealed her strong penchant for getting word off the street, and right now he could use that.

“We’ve got a person on interest. I texted Cisco about it last night, but maybe you might be able to help too. The guy’s name is Alexander Petrov. He’s CSI in Keystone, and according to Snart he’s a very dangerous guy.”

“That name sounds familiar. Eddie might know more since he worked there. Once we’re all at S.T.A.R. Labs I’ll see what I can dig up for you.”

Barry felt himself smile. All it ever took was a brief conversation with Iris to get him back to normal. Sure he still had the issue of his very conflicting attraction to Len, but at least talking to Iris even if it wasn’t about that situation seemed to ground him a bit.

“You’re the best, Iris,” he beamed.

“And don’t you forget it. And I expect more frequent communication, Barry. At least call my dad because he’s probably going to snap and attack Snart if you don’t.”

“I will. I promise.” He at least hoped he could remember to do that. With what was going on now, it was getting hard to remember to do anything right now.

“Alright. Take care of yourself, Bar.”

Barry smiled and laughed quietly. “I will, Iris. I’ll talk to you soon.”

They both hung up the phone, and Barry let his smile linger just a bit longer before he realized he was going to have to come up with a game plan on how to deal with this situation with Len.

The obvious option was simply to just ignore it altogether and get through this mission as quickly as possible. Once they stopped this whole meta-human threat once and for all, he and Len could simply go their separate ways and become enemies again, Len as Captain Cold and Barry as the Flash. No one would bring it up again, and if so Barry could just shut it down and say nothing had happened at all between them.

But then there was that tiny part of him that lingered in the very back of his mind. It was a tiny part of him that kept saying he could somehow use this to his advantage. Len had been intentionally unsubtle about the fact that he was attracted to Barry, and their kiss last night had essentially opened the floodgates on their attraction to one another. He was physically attracted to Len and figured Len was physically attracted to him too. And if he was being honest with himself, he was young and very frustrated, and someone like Len was a simple solution to that problem.

Iris wasn’t available to him anymore because Eddie was here for her, and he was bound and determined not to get in-between them again.

He and Linda hadn’t even regressed past heavy making out on his couch before they had broken up, which meant his sexual experience was still very minimal, and it would be hard to find time to jerk off without Len being aware of it.

Having all this energy from being the Flash, all the highs and even the lows, was hard to maintain when he didn’t have a way to expend it in ways he might find relieving. Len was very good-looking for his age, and Barry couldn’t rip the image of Len’s naked body from his mind, no matter how hard he tried.

But just as quickly as the thought entered his mind, he quickly regained control himself and pushed the thoughts out. There was no way in the world he could get Len to agree to this, and there was no way he could even bring himself to ask.

At least, he was going to spend the rest of today trying to convince himself of that.

 

********************

 

Barry and Len had gotten dressed with minimal interaction with one another, mostly on Barry’s part because he wasn’t sure he was in a good mental position to talk to Len, especially if their conversation involved what happened this morning.

Barry could almost feel Len’s leer on him, and he couldn’t help but sneak a peek when he figured Len wasn’t paying attention. That was how they remained from the time they were in the room together all the way to the point in which they were making their way to the relaxation room where their morning activity was to take place.

As he and Len walked to their first activity for the day, he noticed people from another group out in the courtyard doing the same yoga exercise they had done the day before. For some reason, he’d been wondering what the other groups were doing, but it seemed that they were all just rotating various events.

Len remained quiet and focused to the point that and Barry didn’t dare say anything out of fear of breaking whatever it was on his mind.

Eventually, they reached the relaxation and meditation building, and outside the rest of their small group was quietly standing outside the door that was apparently locked with Dr. James standing in the front of it.

“Good morning, Leonard and Barry,” Dr. James greeted.

“Good morning,” Barry said back to them. Len still said nothing, and Barry was starting to wonder if maybe Len was more irritated by the accidental spooning incident than he’d led on.

“Well since that’s everyone, why don’t we go ahead and get started with today’s activity,” Dr. James suggested. Everyone either nodded their head or mumbled some form of agreement with him, and Dr. James unlocked the door and opened it to reveal a very uniquely designed room.

The large room was pretty much a dimly lit spa with lamps and lights with a faint orange glow spread throughout. An electronic fireplace display sat on one wall, illuminating the room with the glow of fake fire as well. Scattered around the room were large massage tables that looked almost as comfortable as the bed in his room. It was so dark thought that he’d nearly missed the four people, who Barry assumed were professional masseuses based on how they were dressed, standing very creepily against the wall. 

Something in his head protested this whole thing. He was the first to admit he was very sensitive to touch, and the idea of Len rubbing his hands and massaging his body was definitely not going to go over well.

He really regretted not jerking off this morning now.

“Today’s lesson is going to be something of a continuation of yesterday with silent communication, but also different. Today, I want to focus on two different things that are vital to a successful relationship, and that is active awareness of how your partner is feeling as well as also working on being open and expressive in different ways so that your partner can pick up on any changes in your mood or physical state.”

The four masseuses stepped forward as if on cue and stood beside Dr. James, each with a relatively pleasant smile on their face.

“I have with me, four very skilled masseuses who are going to walk each couple through proper massage technique. Once that’s done you are going to give each other massages, however, the goal is to use very little words to communicate with your partner. Instead, the person receiving the massage needs to be expressive with their body language or breathing to tell your partner if they’re massaging you in the right way or in the right place.”

Barry swallowed once he’d heard that. He was definitely doomed now.

Dr. James split everyone up into groups and Barry and Len were given Krystal who escorted the two of them over to a corner where two massage tables were waiting for the both of them.

“So, Leonard and Barry, do any of you have any type of professional massage experience?” Krystal asked, her voice bubbly and enthusiastic.

“Uh—I don’t,” Barry said with a shrug.

“While I haven’t had any complaints about my massage skills, can’t say I’ve been professionally trained,” Len followed with his usual calm, aloof tone.

“Well if you two are ready, I’ll run you through some easy but effective massage techniques that you can use with each! So, which one of you wants to be my guinea pig?”

Len turned to Barry with a weird half-smirk and a very dangerous leer in his eyes. “You should go, Barry. You seem awfully tense lately.”

Barry was surprised to say the least, but he hid it behind a curious, maybe slightly annoyed, glance. Something was going through Len’s head, and Barry wasn’t sure whether or not he should be worried by it.

“Alright, Barry, if you will, take your shirt off and lie down on your stomach and I’ll start showing Leonard here some ways to really massage your back right,” Krystal instructed.

Barry huffed, but did as he was told and laid down flat on the massage table and waited for this to be over. Rather than getting a massage he and Len should’ve been looking for a way to locate more information on Petrov, or start snooping around the resort and find anything that might hint where this Tar was being produced from.

“Are you comfortable?” Krystal asked.

“Yeah. I’m good,” Barry said.

“Alright. Now watch carefully, Mr. Scofield. I’ll show you a few things then I’ll watch you do it a few times and then give you and Barry a little bit of alone time to try it out and use the time to really connect with one another through the massage. Then we’ll switch it up.”

Barry just closed his eyes and tried to relax as much as he possibly could, but as Krystal started to work on his back, it became harder.

Krystal’s hands moving across his back reminded him that he had a lot more tension in his body than he’d thought. He had a lightning-fast metabolism that healed his body very quickly, but apparently the stress of being a superhero and all the damage his body went through since being the Flash left him with a lot tighter knots in his back than he’d thought.

Something about Krystal’s hands just didn’t seem to feel right though. It felt good having her rub those spots, and he did feel some minor relief. It just wasn’t as relaxing as he’d expected it to be.

He was hardly paying attention to Krystal’s instructions to Len and instead, he let his eyes close and his mind drift off. His mind focused on the meta-humans he had dealt with, how inhuman and powerful they were. He’d be lying if he didn’t admit that he was partially afraid of going up against them again. He’d barely put a dent in the last one, and from the sound of it, the meta-human that Cisco and the others had dealt with was just as bad.

It was weird thinking that somewhere in this resort there might be someone or something that was creating those things somehow. But as he thought about the resort his thoughts immediately honed in on Len. His eyes quickly shot open because he was not going down that road again.

“Alright, Mr. Scofield. It’s your turn to give it shot,” Krystal said, breaking Barry out of his daydreaming.

“Will do. You ready, Barry?” Len asked calmly.

Barry swallowed awkwardly. “Just make sure you don’t do it too har— _ahhhhh_ ,” he was cut off by the sigh that came flying out of his mouth when he felt Len’s hands press down on the upper part of his back in a very tense spot.

Barry took a few deep breaths and prepared himself, but it was no use as Len’s hands were surprisingly warm and bigger than Krystal’s. He pressed just hard enough that Barry could feel the muscle knot shift just right. And while he was rubbing the muscle in roughly the same motion as Krystal, something about Len’s hands doing it had him relaxing and breathing softly.

“Very good technique, Mr. Scofield,” Krystal complimented, and boy was she right.

Barry felt like Len was rubbing the last year’s worth of stress out of his body, and it felt like heaven on Earth.

Len was moving down his back now, pressing and rubbing in all the right places while Barry remained a panting mess beneath him. He felt so helpless under Len’s touch, but something about just letting Len take all his stress and tension away felt right.

“Since you’re doing such a good job, I’ll give you two about ten minutes to really just massage and communicate with each other.”

Barry barely made out what she had said as Len massaged another knot out of his lower back, but he could sense that Krystal wasn’t nearby anymore and that was fine with him.

He could, however, make out the snicker from Len whose hands were practically gliding across his back in a way that almost tickled but felt too good to tell him to stop.

“Feel good, Barry?” Len asked. Barry wanted to grumble and say something sarcastic, but every time he tried to open his mouth Len’s hands found another tender spot to massage that had him groaning almost lewdly. Barry could just imagine the smirk Len had on his face seeing him so—defenseless. “You know, Barry, you’re pretty tense for a kid your age. Being a superhero too much for you?” Len teased, voice barely above a whisper that only he could hear.

“It’s people like you who make me so tense,” Barry snarked back.

“Comes with the job, Barry.” Len’s hands were now practically caressing his back in wide motions and his fingers dug into his back in several spots, and Barry struggled hard not to moan as he did it. “But, that doesn’t mean I can’t help relieve some of that tension,” Len muttered, voice low and suggestive.

“What are you talking about, Snart?” Barry said. He wasn’t even concerned that he had called Len by his real last name. He solely focused on the fact that Len was suggesting something that he himself had been thinking about, and was massaging his back in a weirdly erotic manner while doing it.

“C’mon, _Barry._ We both know that whatever this—thing— is between you and is way more than just pretend. We don’t have to like each other, but we are attracted to each other. That much you can’t deny,” Len explained.

Barry knew it was obvious, and he knew no matter what he said, whether he tried to deny it or not, Len already had his mind made up.

“So what if we’re attracted to each other? You still rob for a living, and I’m still the person who has to stop you,” Barry begrudgingly admitted.

Len’s hands dipped lower and Barry felt a shiver run down his spine and into the dip of his lower back where apparently he was extremely sensitive.

“Doesn’t mean we can’t relieve each other’s tension while we’re here. You’re obviously wound up pretty tight, and it doesn’t take genius to figure you haven’t been laid in a long time.” Barry grumbled lowly at that, but Len didn’t seem to care or mind. “Relax, Barry. I’ll admit, being a full-time criminal doesn’t afford as much time to let loose either, so why not fix both our problems at the same time.”

Barry wasn’t sure if Len had somehow developed mind-reading powers because it was terrifying that they were discussing this very thing he’d thought about earlier this morning. Before now, he’d vehemently said no to doing anything with Len. But now that they were here, and he was getting a very tiny taste of what it would feel like to be pinned underneath Len, his resolve was quickly crumbling.

“What are you thinking?” he finally said.

Len snickered again and Barry felt another chill crawl up his body. “I’m thinking you fake sick so we can get out of here for a bit, and I’ll show you something that feels even better than this back in the room.”

Barry couldn’t answer before Len’s hands dipped even lower, and he felt finger tips glossing over the skin right above his ass causing his whole body to jerk in surprise and pant just a little too loudly. And just like that, the rest of his resolve had withered away.

Dr. James was now approaching them, and Barry turned just in time to see the look of mild concern on his face.

“Is everything alright?” Dr. James asked.

Barry was almost too embarrassed to look up and he could feel his face heating up once again for second time today.

“Sorry, doc. I don’t think Barry’s feeling well. I think we might need to take a break back in our room if that’s alright,” Len said.

Dr. James looked down at Barry, and didn’t seem suspicious of his story at all if the curious look on his face was anything to go by.

“You are quite red looking, Mr. Allen. While I would hate for you two to miss out of the rest of our morning therapy session, I am pleased to see how attentive you’re being to Barry, Mr. Scofield. It shows some growth already. I’ll check on you two before our afternoon activity to see if you’re well enough to join us,” Dr. James explained.

Barry ignored the fact that Dr. James had called him sickly, and contemplated putting a stop to this whole charade. But, he couldn’t deny that Len’s offer had intrigued him.

“Thank you, Dr. James,” Barry said, deciding to do his best to sound sickly to play along with Len’s lie.

Barry hopped off the table and Len handed him his shirt, which he put on, trying his best to move slowly.

“C’mon, Barry, I’ll take you back to the room and take care of you,” Len said sickly-sweet in a way that made Barry want to really be sick.

“Feel better, Barry,” Dr. James called out to him as Barry and Len walked out in tandem, Len’s hand still right in the small of his back.

Once they were outside the building Barry felt a nervous spike of energy coursing through him. He was really about to do this. He was really about to make some sort of sex agreement with Len.

“Not bad, Barry. Didn’t think you had it in you to fake sick. You always struck me as the goody-two shoes type,” Len taunted.

Barry snickered. “. Maybe there’s more to me than you thought, Lenny.”

Len smirked and slowly encroached into Barry’s space, and Barry could see the dark look of want—sex—power lurking in those cold, blue eyes. “Maybe so. And I’ll admit, I’m very curious to find that out.”  And without any warning, Len crashed their lips together and Barry was immediately overcome with the sensation that was Leonard Snart. Everything about him, his touch, his scent, the fresh, minty taste on his lips was overwhelming, and Barry felt weak in his knees like he could collapse any minute, but he couldn’t. Len’s hands were now slowly sliding down over his ass and pulled him flush against Len while kissed him vigorously.

He could only whimper and moan needily into Len’s mouth while clinging to Len’s shirt tightly, letting Len’s tongue slip in his mouth and their erection in his pants slide against Len’s. It was such a shocking feeling he almost felt like he could come right here fully clothed.

But just like that, the sensation was gone, and Len’s face was still dangerously close to Barry’s.

“We better hurry and get back to the room soon, or else you and I are about to get arrested for public indecency very very soon,” Len growled.

The deep, desperate, and guttural tone of Len’s voice had Barry swallowing down a lump and sent a pulse radiating through Barry’s cock that was straining in interest.

Barry was officially over the whole idea of not sleeping with Len just because he was a criminal. Len had a good point, and they were allies right now, so relieving a little bit of sexual tension wouldn’t hurt. The only debate he had now was whether he cared if people saw him using his speed to get them up to the room faster or not because he didn’t want to wait another minute.

He and Len could possibly be making the biggest mistake of their lives, but it was going to be worth it, or at least he hoped it would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The official official official NSFW stuff starts next chapter!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry and Len finally do something thing about their pent-up frustration, and Len learns some things about Barry he'll be sure to put to use later on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this has taken forever. I'm in this weird phase where I'm getting a million and one ideas for other fics to write and it sort of consumed me. BUT, here is nothing but a chapter of pure Coldflash smut! There is very little plot, just Len and Barry getting down and dirty. Enjoy!

As Barry stood pressed up against the door of his and Len’s shared room with Len’s lips roughly pressed against his and Len’s tongue slowly slinking inside his mouth, he realized that in the short span of three minutes, he’d made some mistakes that he might come to regret.

Mistake number one was recklessly using his super speed to get both him and Len back to their room simply because he was too impatient to walk back. Though he was sure no one had seen him use his speed, it was still an admittedly stupid move looking back on it.

Mistake number two… well he would wait to classify sleeping with Len as a mistake until after they finished.

For right now, he was just going to enjoy the fact that he was finally about to do something with all this awkward and pent up sexual tension that had been building up between the two of them since—well a long time.

From the moment he’d decided against arresting Len after he, Rory and his sister had kidnapped Cisco, Barry knew something between them was different. There wasn’t any other villain who could do the things Len did and not be a prime target for Barry. Len had kidnapped his friends, robbed several places of expensive jewels and money, and killed a security guard right in front of him just to test his cold gun. He no doubt had probably done various other equally if not more heinous things in his lifetime as well.

Yet, here he was, with Len’s body pressed firmly against his, one hand pinning both of Barry’s arms above his head while he hungrily kissed him. Barry, on his end, let Len do as he pleased, parting his lips enough for Len’s tongue to slide in easier, and enthusiastically groaning to show Len he was really enjoying the feeling.

“Geez, kid. I wish you were this easy when I was pulling my heists,” Len said, voice barely above a growl as he pulled his lips back just slightly. “Still, it was pretty reckless of you to use your speed, no matter how impatient you are to get fucked.”

As Barry started to say something, Len started to kiss the exposed skin of his neck sending a shiver down his body and causing his words to come out slow stuttered. “W… well… _ah…_ no one saw us… _ahhh.”_

“You’re lucky for that. You could’ve blown this little mission of yours, and then we wouldn’t be able to do this.”

Len actually sounded mildly irritated that Barry almost blew his chances at them getting to do this, and Barry was really beginning to wonder just how badly Len had wanted this to happen. Maybe this was more than just a game for him.

Barry felt Len’s leg slide in between his thighs and he could feel Len’s erection grinding against the front of his jeans. Len’s lips were sucking bruises and marks on his skin that he knew would be gone just as quickly as they’d been made. It was rough and wrong, yet somehow it felt right.

“Are we going to move to the bed any time soon?” Barry muttered.

Len laughed against his throat, warm breath tickling the skin of his neck and making his hairs stand on end.

“You really want this don’t you, Barry? You’re not at all worried about sleeping with me, a criminal who enjoys taking things for a living.” Len’s words were so matter-of-fact and taunting that Barry didn’t want to respond. He didn’t need to feel any more guilt over what he was doing now. Len was more than alright with his silence and continued to suck and nip on his neck, slowly letting his lips trail further up until he was nipping playfully at his jaw.

“I—I don’t need a reminder of your… _ahh_ —profession. Just need you too—” he was cut off with another kiss probably to stop him rambling which in this moment he was probably going to do.

“To answer your question, yes, we’re going to the bed, _right now_.”

The commanding tone in Len’s voice sent a shiver down Barry’s body and he didn’t bother to protest in the slightest when Len forcefully turned the lock to the door and pulled him towards the bedroom. Before Barry could sit down on the bed though, Len pulled him into another kiss, his hands wrapped around Barry’s waist.

Barry found himself lost in his own thoughts. He was kissing Leonard Snart. His arms were wrapped around Leonard Snart’s neck. Leonard Snart was a surprisingly gentle lover for a man so cold and ruthless.

Len gave a gentle shove and Barry fall back onto the bed and looked up hungrily into the piercing, lust-filled eyes staring down at him. Len’s lips were red, swollen, and glistening. The sight of it all had Barry’s erection straining hard against his pants, and he desperately needed more.

He got his wish as Len lurched over him and grabbed the pair of glasses sitting on Barry's face and tossed them on the floor along with his own before capturing Barry’s lips again, biting and pulling at them as he straddled Barry on the bed.  

Barry grabbed at Len, holding onto him as he let Len as the older man’s lips trailed down his neck again, nipping, sucking, and biting marks into his neck that he knew would heal quickly. The only thing he could do besides gasp and shudder was cling to Len for dear life, letting his hands glide down Len’s back, desperate to feel skin against skin.

“Never thought I’d see the Flash so desperate and needy like this. Gives me all sorts of devilish ideas,” Len muttered into his neck.

“Well whatever they are you better hurry up because— _ahh_ —I don’t feel like waiting,” Barry gasped.

“Of course you’d be impatient when someone’s trying to seduce you.”

Barry snorted at that, but threw his head back as Len grazed a hand over Barry’s erection in his pants. The touch was light and teasing, but enough that even doing that a little bit longer would make him come. Len though was just grinning.

“Alright, Barry, let me tell you how this is going to go,” Len started, hands still slowly stroking Barry’s erection through his pants. “You’re going to take your clothes off, and I’m going to do the same. Then I’m going to blow you until you come, and then fuck you. Sound good?”

Barry swallowed and nodded. This was really about to happen, and God he was excited.

“Good. Now, strip, and I don’t need a tease… _this time._ The faster, the better.”

There was a nervous excitement coursing through him at the thought of truly exposing himself completely to Len, but using his speed and letting go of his remaining inhibitions he was undressed and naked in under a second. He resisted the urge to cover himself, especially his now rock hard erection that was standing freely at attention. The chill of the room made him want to shiver, but he didn’t dare move, not when Len was just staring at him as if he was analyzing every inch of his naked body.

“Damn, Barry. I’d figured you’d look pretty delectable underneath that suit, but even that was an understatement.”

Barry shouldn’t have wanted to revel in Len’s praise so much, but he couldn’t help the small sense of satisfaction growing inside of him.

“Your turn now, Len. Tit for tat like you always say,” Barry reminded.

Len shrugged. “Not that you haven’t already seen me naked, but I figure it’ll be a whole new experience up close and personal.” With that Len peeled off article after article of clothing, and Barry just sat back and watched in awe until Len was naked, and then his eyes drifted down to Len’s cock which was just… gargantuan in size. He’d tried so hard not to think about it when he’d accidentally saw Len naked that one time, but seeing it this close he was definitely going to be thankful for his quick healing.

“Like what you see, Barry?” Len teased with a knowing smirk.

Barry was speechless and just sat back on the bed waiting for Len to make his move.

“If you’re worried about how big it is, don’t be. Unlike most with a dick this size, I actually know how to use it.” 

“Did I say I was worried?” Barry challenged, unsure where the sudden bravado came from. Regardless, it seemed to amuse Len.

“Glad to see you’re still just as defiant as ever. Now move back and make from room for me. Time to get this show started by giving you the best blow job you’ve ever had.”

“Someone’s a little cocky,” Barry taunted as he followed instructions and moved back on the bed to let Len crawl onto it and into his space.

“Well, you don’t exactly strike me as someone who’s had a lot of people blow him, so I don’t think I’ll have too much competition.” Barry could feel the heat in his cheeks and looked away. Damn Snart for being so good at reading him. “Tell you what, if it’s not the best blow job you’ve ever had, then I won’t rob a place for the whole month.”

“You’re that confident?” Barry questioned with a raised eyebrow.

“Just sit back and let me show you, Barry,” Len said impatiently. That had Barry zipping his mouth shut and doing just what Len told him.

He felt Len’s cold hands on the inside of his thighs as he spread his legs and watched as Len leaned forward, face right down by his thigh.

“Make sure you hold still,” Len instructed before he started immediately teasing Barry, kissing a slow trail up one of Barry’s thighs all while Barry struggled not to squirm. Len was clearly enjoying himself as Barry could feel light nips at the skin of his inner thigh, and Len’s lips and tongue kissing as much of his skin as he could.

Len stopped and pulled his lips away and Barry felt his breathing stop, anxious in anticipation of what was to come next. Nothing though could prepare him for Len to lick a stripe from his sac all the way up the underside of his cock that had him crying out and squirming until Len had pulled his tongue back.

“F—fuck. You need to warn me if you do something like th—”

Len licked the underside of his cock again, this time torturously letting his tongue swivel around and tease the head of his cock. Barry could feel his toes curling painfully and his grip on the bedding had tightened, but he did what Len had commanded and tried to keep himself from moving too much, but it was hard when Len seemed to know just where to lick to send a jolt of pleasure coursing through his body.

Len wasted no time, however, and suddenly Barry felt Len’s lips wrap around the head of his cock, and before he knew it, he could feel the velvet of Len’s throat constricting his cock, while his hand was gripping the base of his cock.

He was a mess, moaning and panting all while giving short, pathetic thrusts into Len’s mouth that were met with Len laughing around his cock while using his free hand to hold him down as much as he could. But it was useless. As Len sucked him down faster, tongue teasing every inch of his cock and mouth so warm and inviting, Barry kept squirming, especially as he felt an orgasm swiftly approaching.

“Len, gonna—gonna come,” he panted.

Len hummed, and Barry felt a shiver course through his body, which was when he realized that it wasn’t just an internal shiver he felt, but his whole body vibrating. Len stopped for a second, and Barry immediately wondered if he’d messed up and frightened Len. Len pulled his lips off his cock with an obscene pop.

“Jeez, kid. I didn’t realize you were your own personal vibrator,” Len noted.

“S—sorry. It only happens when I—uh—get a little too excited.”

Len shrugged and wrapped his hand around Barry’s cock again. “I don’t mind. Now that I have this information, I’m going to find some— _creative—_ ways to put it to use later. Now, I’m going to finish sucking you off, and you’re going to come while I’m sucking you off.”

Just hearing Len tell him to come in his mouth had Barry’s cock twitching in delight

Barry meekly nodded and Len licked his lips before sucking Barry back down again, wasting no time in finding a fast pace that had Barry groaning again. His tongue swiveled around every inch of his cock as he took Barry deeper into his mouth, hardly gagging as Barry felt his cock hit Len’s throat. The fact that Len could deepthroat him was a mind-blowing fact all on its own.

“Fuck—that’s it—Len. I’m gonna—gonna. _Fuuuuck._ ”

Barry felt himself let go, and his hips bucked up off the bed slightly and his fingers dug into the bed as he groaned and came. He felt a spark run through his body and he could practically see stars as his orgasm ripped through him. Len, though, continued sucking him through it like a pro, swallowing him down. Barry only wished his eyes hadn’t been shut tight so he could see him. He felt spent as the aftershocks of his orgasm subsided, and he collapsed into the bed, breathing heavily as if he’d just gone a round with Reverse Flash.

He could feel himself smiling all relaxed and dopey-like, and through half-lidded eyes he looked up to see Len smirking down at him, blue eyes raking across his relaxed body and his lips glistening with spit and maybe his come.

“You too blissed out for me to fuck you, or do you think you can go again?” Len inquired.

“I don’t have a refractory period, so I can—I can keep going,” Barry explained through labored but relaxing breaths.

“You’re a piece of work, you know that, Barry. You’re really making me regret not having suggested this a long time ago.”

Len hopped off the bed and moved to the nightstand where he opened the top drawer and pulled out a tube of lube and a string of condoms much to Barry’s surprise. Had those always been in there?

“Don’t look so surprised. This is a couple’s therapy retreat, which means there’s always complimentary condoms provided. If these condoms get any use then they’re doing their job right,” Len commented.

That did make sense, but still that was a lot of condoms and he had to wonder how long they had been sitting in there.

“Guess they should be proud for getting two mortal enemies to have sex with each other,” Barry joked.

“Oh I don’t know about that. I imagine it was only a matter of time before we ended up here even without the current circumstances,” Len countered with a smirk.

Barry watched as Len popped the cap on the lube and slicked up his fingers before rejoining him on the bed. Just seeing those fingers glisten in the morning sun and knowing what was about to come next made him hard all over again, and he was thankful for his body’s ridiculously enhanced metabolism.

“Look at you already hard again. One of these days, I’m gonna have to see how many orgasms I can get out of you.”

Barry felt his cock twitch at the thought, and Len laughed quietly to himself before pressing a lubed up finger inside him. He bit his bottom lip, struggling against the urge of wanting to cry out at the sensation, but that struggle came to a quick end as Len slid in another finger beside the first and gasp after gasp came falling out of his mouth. He felt his cock sitting against his chest, leaking precome already, and slowly he reached up to stroke it only for Len to tap his hand in warning.

“Nope. I want to see if I can get you to come just from me fucking you alone,” Len said.

Barry swallowed and let his hand fall back down and instead too to rolling his hips, trying to meet each thrust of Len’s fingers to get them further inside. The feeling was so foreign and new, and Len was being surprisingly tender, but he wanted more. No. He needed more.

“Damn, Barry. Look at you, all greedy and desperate. You’re really liking this aren’t you?” Len teased.

“ _Fuck—_ yes,” Barry murmured with a rough voice.

After just a few more thrusts of his finger, Barry felt the sensation disappear, and he knew that meant that Len was done stretching him open. That meant he was about to have Len’s cock inside him.

He heard the condom wrapper tear, and he curiously watched as Len rolled the latex down his shaft. All the while, Len was just watching him intently almost as if they were fighting against one another like all those times before. It was exhilarating and thrilling all at the same time, and he was just ready to feel Len inside him.

“You ready for this?” Len asked, fisting his cock as he spread the liberally applied lube in his hand.

“Yeah. I—I just—need you inside me now,” Barry admitted, face red at the fact that he, the hero who was supposed to fight against criminals like Len, had been reduced to a horny, needy mess of a person right now.

“Eager. I like that. Should’ve known the Flash would be such an impatient lover.” 

Barry laughed while Len grabbed one of his legs and lifted it up, positioning it just right so that Len’s cock was able to push right against his rim. It was a painstakingly slow thing waiting for Len to push into him, and he felt like he would come apart at any moment, but Len carefully let the head of his cock sink inside of him and Barry felt a stretch like nothing he’d ever felt before.

Len felt so much bigger than he looked as he slowly pushed every inch of his cock inside Barry, and all he could do was hiss and pant while digging his fingers into the bed desperately as his body adjusted to the stretch of Len fully inside him.

“You ever had a cock this big inside you, Barry?” Len growled.

Barry did his best to shake his head, but it was difficult to do so as Len slowly pulled his cock back out, the sensation sending a shiver throughout his body. That’s when he felt the his body start vibrating again. Len pushed through the vibrations and slowly increased his rhythm from slow and teasing to eventually fast and ferocious. Len let go of Barry’s legs, but Barry just wrapped them around Len’s naked, sweaty body and from there they had both just let go completely.

Len leaned down to capture Barry’s lips in a rough kiss, fucking into Barry mercilessly while Barry had reached for Len, fingers digging into Len’s back as he kissed back, panting and groaning into Len’s mouth wantonly. Barry’s body was vibrating wildly now and precome was coating and his cock was teetering dangerously on the edge of coming again, but he wasn’t ready to let go yet. He wanted to keep this feeling going for as long as possible. Len’s cock was punishing and stretching him in ways he never thought he’d experience before, but he welcomed the raw, slightly painful feeling. He needed more. Hell, he was practically begging for more now.

“Fuck—look at you, Barry. Should’ve known you’d look amazing taking a cock. My cock,” Len growled into his mouth.

It was sight he’d never expected to see. Len was hardly the calm and cool man Barry had come to know in this last year. Instead, Len was borderline animalistic, taking and giving to Barry without so much as a plan or thought going through his mind. It was beautiful.

Barry felt a strong hand wrap around his cock, and he realized that Len was jerking him off. His fingers playing across his shaft expertly and causing Barry to cry out in utter bliss.

“That’s right, Barry. Let go. I want you to come while I’m inside you.”

It didn’t require much more than that and with a whine that he would’ve been embarrassed by under normal circumstances Barry was coming again, body bucking and shaking while his chest was covered in his own come. His entire body stiffened and Len growled as he continued to fuck into him relentlessly until the sensations had so intense Barry’s entire body was vibrating wildly. With one beastly noise and several short, deep thrusts, Len hunched over Barry and stopped moving and Barry felt Len’s cock pulsing and he knew he’d just come.

They were both frozen like that for only a few moments, but those felt like an eternity to him. Eventually Len pulled out of him, rolled the condom off, and discarded in the trashcan by the bed before collapsing beside Barry.

Barry could feel himself grinning, especially when he felt Len collapse next to him and wrap his arm loosely around Barry’s chest not seeming to mind the mess of come that was covered him. It was an odd feeling he was experiencing with Len of all people. It was a weird sense of domesticity he never thought someone like Leonard Snart was capable of. He was half expecting Len to disappear somewhere else since he never struck Barry as someone who enjoyed post-coital cuddling, but they both were.

Barry hummed lazily and Len laughed snickered beside him.

“So, are you feeling better, _honey_?” Len asked facetiously.

“I think so. Though a repeat performance might make me feel even better,” Barry joked.

“That’ll have to wait. Not everyone is blessed with a superhuman metabolism. But you better believe that we’re going to be putting that little vibrating feature of yours to the test very soon.”

Barry yawned and felt his eyes slowly start to close, not at all mindful of the fact that his on and off adversary lying behind him naked and vulnerable while wrapping his arm around him.

“I’m counting on it, _Lenny_ ,” Barry said before he felt himself start to drift off into a deep sleep. They’d have to go back and join the group eventually, but what was the harm in a little post-coital nap with your fake boyfriend?


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry and Len's post-coital conversation doesn't go as planned and tensions run high as Barry makes a new and surprising discovery in their search for the person behind the meta-human attacks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been forever since I posted, but I am back, so maybe there will be more frequent updates! I'm hoping there will be with the Flash back on and more inspiration floating around, so thanks for sticking out the wait!

Len sat and watched Barry, the younger man’s chest slowly rising and falling as a post-coital aura seemed to radiate around him. He didn’t dare move out of fear of waking him up because even as a hardened criminal he could admit that he was enjoying the view Barry so quiet and at peace.

Len had to hand it to Barry. For someone who seemingly innocent and sheltered, the kid was a fantastic lay in bed. He really couldn’t remember a time he’d enjoyed himself that much during sex be it with a man or woman.

Maybe it was the fact that he and Barry were equals in their own way. The other people Len had slept with in the past were all in some ways unequal to him. Most times, they were prostitutes or naive younger men who seemed to have a thing for charming older men. For those who didn’t know who he was, he was always careful not to reveal too much less he scare them off and have the police after him, much like that one time three years ago. Since then, he found himself a fan of one-night stands. There was no mess, and a much smaller risk of things going wrong.

But with Barry, there was no lying or façade. He could be himself, a world-renowned criminal. And, the knowledge that Barry could hold his own against him both in bed and out was oddly reassuring. It was definitely enough to break his rule of no repeat performances. It was just another rule of his that Barry was somehow the exception to.

Barry started to stir, and Len felt a smirk starting to play at his lips as Barry groaned as he stretched. Despite his normally awkward appearance, there was something regal about the way Barry looked as he awoke.

“Sleep well, Barry?” Len inquired with a smirk.

Barry yawned turned to Len with a lazy grin. “Best sleep I’ve had in a while.”

Len chuckled at that and sat up in the bed, looking down at Barry. “Gotta hand it to you, Barry, you were probably the best lay I’ve had in a very long time. That little vibrating trick you did definitely surprised me.”

Barry snickered. “Well you're lucky because I don’t have much control over it. All I know is that it happens when I get turned-on or excited.”

Len nodded and his mind started to count the number of ways he could put that to good use. That was of course assuming he and Barry did this again, which, at the present moment, seemed like a very likely.

“Well, we’ll have time to test that little trick of yours soon. In fact, we should really consider doing this after we’re done with this little mission of yours. Could be a nice little way to loosen me up before a heist.”

Barry immediately tensed up and his eyes set in a strange glare, and Len knew almost exactly what was going through Barry’s head. In fact, it was just like that one time three years ago with guy almost the same age as Barry, and almost immediately he recognized that maybe he shouldn’t have pressed his luck.

“Really, Len?” Barry growled with that incredulous tone Len recognized.

“You thought I was going to give up being a criminal because we fucked one time? I told you, it was a way to relieve some stress. Nothing more and nothing less.”

Barry grumbled and Len could see rage starting to fill those puppy-dog eyes of his. Their post-sex bliss was definitely over.

“I just don’t need a reminder that this was a means to an end for you, Snart,” Barry grumbled.

Len snorted in amusement hearing Barry use his last name. “So, we’re back to those names again, _Flash_?” Barry glared and Len wished that for the simple sake of not getting into some pointless argument he could just rewind time back three minutes and stop himself from even saying that. He honestly hadn’t counted on Barry being so sensitive to what he said.

“Look, I don’t need you getting some strange idea in your head that this is anything more than what it is. We’re just blowing off some steam. I’m not going to quit being a criminal and you’re not going to quit being the hero who tries to stop me. You knew who and what you were dealing with when we did this,” Len quipped.

Barry jumped out of the bed and Len’s patience was slowly starting to thin. Despite the fact that sex with Barry was very enjoyable, he was starting to regret not listening to that tiny voice in the back of his head that said this was potentially a horrible idea. Seeing Barry’s naked body again though was stopping him from fully regretting this decision.

“What are you doing, Barry?” Len questioned in a patronizing tone, hoping somehow to draw Barry back into the bed if even for a few moments longer.

“Getting dressed and going back downstairs. This was a stupid idea. I can’t believe I let myself fall for your stupid tricks and sleep with you.”

“My tricks?” Len said, tilting his head to the side just a little bit.

“Yes, your tricks, Snart. You said it yourself. You’re a liar and a criminal. You’ve tried to kill me and my friends so many times, and all because you think this is all some big joke and game. So why shouldn’t I think that you slept with me to try and get something? You said it yourself; you don’t do anything without a plan.”

Hearing the accusation sent a surge of rage coursing through Len. Sure, he was a bad guy, but weirdly enough there was a line he would never cross and that included coercing someone into having sex.

“Don’t try to pretend that this is about me, Barry. This is about you having buyer’s remorse all of sudden. Seems you can’t handle that _you_ , Mr. Goody two-shoes, willingly had sex with me, a criminal. Or is it that you can’t handle the fact that sleeping with me doesn’t make you the superhero that all of Central City thinks you are?”

Len knew his words were biting. It was a defense mechanism he learned very early in life. Hurting someone physically was all fine and good, but ripping someone to shreds with their greatest fears was usually even more satisfying.

Barry looked mere seconds away from snapping, and Len once again found himself wondering what would happen if Barry were to snap.  

“So why help me then, Snart? What do want out of this whole thing? You fucked me so now you can scratch that off your list, so what’s left for you?” Barry accused, his voice a low growl that almost would’ve sent a shiver down Len’s spine if he hadn’t dealt with worse with people much scarier than Barry.

“You think fucking you was my plan? Kid, I can find better pieces of ass easily. Don’t overestimate your worth. Believe it or not, I was here to help you.” 

“Well you know what, screw you, Snart. If you want to leave, then go. I’m not keeping you here.”

Using his super speed Barry raced around the room and was out of the door in mere moments, leaving Len in the bedroom alone and angry.

He was angry at Barry for implying that he would even remotely try to trick or coerce him or anyone for that matter into sleeping with him. He was angry with himself for thinking the smart thing to do was to lash out and discredit Barry being a hero. He was angry that somehow Barry had managed to seep under his skin enough that he could make him that irrationally angry and lose his cool like that.

He had no clue where Barry went, and presently, he figured going to find him right now would be a terrible idea and only lead to a further blow-up. He wasn’t even sure that he or Barry would be in a position to talk again, especially after Barry’s dismissal of him.  

Only time would tell, and while he was normally a patient man, something about having to wait for Barry to cool off irked him.

 

********************

 

Barry had no clue where he was going, but all he knew was that he needed to be away from the room. He needed to be away from Len.

Len had no right to say he wasn’t a hero. He was the one cleaning up the messes that people like Len made. Len was a killer and a crook, so who was he to judge anyone, much less him, on his morals.

But when all was said and done, Barry was attracted to him and that really sucked.

He needed to distract himself from thinking about the whole thing because the more he replayed the argument in his head, the guiltier he felt. Whether it was because he might have overreacted and made a pretty bad accusation towards Len or that he let Central City down by sleeping with a criminal he wasn’t sure yet.

He pulled out his cell phone, thankful that he’d remembered to grab it before escaping the room, and he quickly dialed Cisco. The phone rang a few times, but he let out an almost audible sigh of relief when he heard the line pick up.

“Cisco! I need your help with something,” he immediately started.

“Woah, hello to you to, Barry. What’s with the sudden greeting? Is something wrong?” Cisco asked.

“Huh? Oh. No. There’s nothing wrong. I—uh—I’ve just been frustrated because Snart and I haven’t found any leads on the case. And who knows when the next meta-human attack could be.”

“O—kay, I guess that makes sense. So what did you need my help with?”

Barry could tell that Cisco didn’t seem to believe his explanation, but he wasn’t in the mood for Cisco or anyone trying to get him to open up, especially not about this. No one could know, especially not Cisco and Caitlin who both have been victims of Snart respectively.

“I just need you to help me make a break in the case before things get out of hand,” Barry sighed. His thoughts were racing a mile a minute, and all of them were about Len and what had just happened.

“That’s not really that helpful, Barry. You sure you’re alright?” Cisco asked again.

“I’m fine, Cisco!” Barry said, a little rougher than he’d meant to, but he couldn’t help it. He was stressing out and worried and he wasn’t quite sure why. He took a deep breath and tried as best as he could to center himself. “Sorry, Cisco. I’m—I’m just worried there will be another meta-human attack and we won’t be able to fight them off next time.”

“Well since you mentioned those meta-humans, I thought you might be interested in something I found when I ran on a test on the latest one,” Cisco said, thankfully changing subjects.

“You ran a test on it? I thought you said Snart’s sister turned it into gold,” Barry inquired.

“She did. But that I figured it wouldn’t hurt to run a test on it anyways since we had another test subject, and what I found is kind of bizarre.”

“What is it?” Barry asked, intrigued.

“Despite the high lime content, and—in this case, gold content—the tests picked up a small trace of a radioactivity in the meta-human. When I looked at it closer, there were traces of meitnerium,” Cisco explained.

“Meitnerium? Wait you mean like the element?” Barry asked puzzled.

“That’s exactly it. And what’s weirder is that meitnerium isn’t a naturally occurring element and it only has a half-life of under one second, so for it to show up in a meta-human is kinda cool, but also really abnormal.”

“But if there were traces of radioactivity in that meta-human then that means whoever is making these things has to have access to high levels of synthetic radioactive material which last time I checked there weren’t any nuclear plants nearby,” Barry noted.

“That was I was thinking, but I ran a scan of the entire area where you and Snart are, and I got a very small trace of radioactivity close to you two. It’s not enough to be physically harmful to anyone, but—”

“It’s enough to raise a red flag,” Barry finished. This was adding a whole new level on mystery and urgency into this situation. The meta-humans alone were a problem, but if someone was playing around with highly volatile and dangerous radioactive materials too then the danger to even more people increased. “Cisco, can you pinpoint where the sensors picked up the radioactivity?”

“Well I would have done that if the radioactivity had lasted. It disappeared almost as quickly as it appeared on the radar. The best I could do is pinpoint the radioactivity to somewhere within a seventy-five-mile radius of where you are now.”

Barry let out a frustrated breath. “So what do you think we should do then?”

“Well hold on,” Cisco urged as he started typing away in the background. Barry felt his phone vibrate and saw a message from Cisco. When he opened it, he saw what looked like blueprints of some sort. “I sent you the approved blueprints of the resort. According to this, there should be a large underground basement somewhere. Apparently, there were tunnels dug underground before the resort was first built. If these unhappy couples are being turned into meta-humans there, I would bet an underground network of tunnels would be the first place to check. In the meantime, I’ll leave sensors on in the lab to alert us anytime it detects radioactivity anywhere near you.”

“Alright, so locate the basement and go from there. Sounds good. I’ll keep you posted on what I find,” Barry replied.

“Uh—you're going alone? Where's Snart?” Cisco asked, catching Barry off-guard.

“Yeah I figure there's no need to get Snart involved. I mean he's... around somewhere, but I think it’ll be easier to do this one solo,” he answered sheepishly.

“I don’t know. As much as I hate to admit it, especially when it comes to Snart, this is kind of the area he excels in.”

“Don’t worry, Cisco. I can handle it myself. I’ll call you and let you know if I find anything.”

 He hung up before Cisco could say anything, and while he knew it was rude and unnecessary, he really didn’t want to hear Snart’s name or even think about him right now.

He also didn’t want to think about the fact that he’d told Snart to leave which in hindsight was a terrible idea and could really screw this whole thing up if he actually did.

Though he knew it was a long shot, maybe he could find what he needed and put this to rest today before he had to consider what his next move with Len was going to be. 

 

********************

 

It had taken a few minutes for Barry to get his bearings right after looking at the blueprints Cisco had sent him, but eventually he’d been able to decipher which buildings had corresponded with the drawings on the blueprints.

Cisco had thankfully marked where the basement supposedly was and Barry had connected the marked location to what looked like the storage building towards the edge of the resort.

He had little doubt that the building was off limits, especially if this was potentially the place where these meta-human experiments were taking place. Thankfully, the itinerary on his phone showed that the group wasn’t supposed to meet again until dinner which meant he wouldn’t have to see Len until then, and if he was lucky maybe he or Len would find some way out of going again. That is if Len was even still here, but he was trying hard not to think about that or what he’d do if Len did leave him stranded up here.  

He made his way through the courtyard on his way to the off limits storage building and he noticed that while other couples were walking around, some with their groups and some alone, he hadn’t seen anyone from his group.

He wasn’t complaining though.

The only thing was he was now left to his own thoughts and no matter how much he didn’t want to think about it, he couldn’t seem to get Len off his mind. That nagging feeling that he’d overreacted was definitely getting stronger, much to his frustration.  

It’s not like he hadn’t wanted to sleep with Len. In fact, he could easily say that he’d been onboard with everything. The only difference between before they had sex and after was fear.

He was afraid that Len now had something else to hold over his head. It was just one other thing that could be used to hurt him and his friends. He didn’t want to think about the disgust Joe, Iris, Caitlin, and Cisco would feel if they knew he had sex willingly with Len. It was bad enough the deals he made with Len that pretty much allowed him to do as he pleased in the city. Now he had an even more intimate knowledge about him. He’d seen Barry naked, seen him desperate and wanting underneath him like no one else had ever before, and that thought was terrifying.

But, accusing Len of taking advantage of him like that was… below the belt. Snart was a murderer, a thief, and an all-round criminal, but something in his heart actually felt guilty of accusing Len of that. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that he was only mad at Len because of his own decisions. But the damage was done, and honestly, it was probably for the best they go back to how things were before this resort ever happened.

Because he was so lost in his thinking, he didn’t register the person walking towards him and he collided with them, sending him reeling back. When the initial shock of the impact wore off he was able to focus and realize that he’d run into Mrs. Valenti of all people who was giving him a look of concern.

“You alright, sugar?” Mrs. Valenti asked as she walked closer to him.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention,” he apologized.

“No need to apologize, hon. Besides, it’s never a bad thing to run into you,” she said with that familiar smile returning. And just like that the chills returned, and he quickly looked to make a quick escape to get away from her as quickly as possible, but she made no effort to move around him. “I almost didn’t recognize you without your glasses. But come to think of it, I like you better without them. You have pretty eyes.”

Barry shuddered, but then realized in his rush to leave he’d forgotten to grab his glasses. It’s not like he needed them though. Len was the criminal who needed to hide, so he figured he might as well ditch the glasses.

“Are you feeling better?” she asked, pulling him out of his latest distracting thoughts.

“Oh—yeah—I’m much better now.”

“Well that’s good to hear. I’m surprised to see you without Leonard. It was adorable seeing him so concerned about you earlier. I only wish Glen was as attentive.”

Barry had to resist a snort at that. It amazed him that no one had picked up on who Len really was. And to hear the words concerned and caring being used to describe Len was nothing short of hilarious.

“You don’t agree?” she asked, pulling him from his own thoughts.

He looked up at her in surprise and realized that he actually did snicker at her comment. “Hmm, what was that?”

“You don’t think Leonard is caring do you? If I didn’t know any better I’d guess that you two got into an argument earlier, didn’t you?” Barry swallowed in astonishment at her very sudden and accurate assumption, and immediately wondered if there was a way out this conversation. “Oh don’t worry, honey, I won’t tell anyone. It’s just easy to read in your expression. The second I said Leonard’s name you got that look like you didn’t want to even think about him. I’m no stranger to that look, you know. It’s the reason we’re all here isn’t it?”

With a sigh, Barry relented. Obviously there wasn’t a way out of this conversation. “Yeah. Len and I—we… umm—we had a fight, and I left to get some air.”

“No need to sound embarrassed by it. Obviously we’re all going to have fights at a couple’s therapy retreat. But just as a word of encouragement, that jealous fire in Len’s eyes whenever I’m around tells me that he cares a lot for you.”

He couldn’t hide his snickering now because right now it was hard to think that Len cared about anything other than himself.

“Don’t laugh, Barry. You two may be fighting now, but that man can’t stand the idea of someone else having you. Just the glares he gives me alone send chills down my spine because I can just feel that passion he has for you.”

He was absolutely convinced that Mrs. Valenti was indeed crazy. Passionate? Caring? None of those were fitting words to describe someone as, ironically, cold as Len was.

“I don’t think that’s Len,” he said with a huff of amusement.

“Oh I think it is. If it wasn’t then he wouldn’t have made you fake sick so you two could be alone would he?”

Barry’s eyes went wide again because it was definitely scary how she knew that of all things.

“You knew?” he managed to ask.

She smiled, but in an almost reassuring and teasing way. “Glen and I were high school sweethearts.” She sighed and Barry could sense she was having a moment of nostalgia. “I still remember those days when Glen and I used to pretend to have a coughing fit so we could go make out behind the gym building. It, surprisingly, wasn’t that hard to recognize you and Len doing the same thing twenty years later.”

He still didn’t know what to say to that. If it was obvious to her that they had played hooky to do something else, then he was sure that it was obvious to someone like Dr. James. For some reason that sent a wave of embarrassment surging through him.

“You get embarrassed so easily, and it’s so cute,” she pointed out, earning a glare from Barry. “It’s precious to see how much you two crave each other. There’s just something about you two that just works. I can’t put my finger on it, but I just know it.”

“Thanks, I think. I—uhh—hope Len and I can work it out,” he muttered hoping this conversation was coming to an end.

“No problem. I have a feeling you and Leonard will work it out. I can’t see him letting you get away. Especially not with an ass like yours,” she teased. Barry felt himself turn red and watched in shock as she winked at him and walked away. “See you at dinner, Barry.”

Mortified, Barry just stood there for a minute processing everything that had just happened. He wasn’t quite sure whether it was the cheeky comments or her observations about him and Len that had him feeling so conflicted.

He knew Len didn’t like her, and he figured it was because she was loud and very in-your-face. But even if Barry thought she was crazy, she didn’t seem the least bit unconvinced that Len was jealous and weirdly enough possessive over him.

Len couldn’t actually be jealous, could he? Their whole argument before was partly because Len had made it clear this meant nothing to him. But on the crazy, extremely rare chance she was right, could Len be taking this mission more seriously than he’d initially thought?

Ignoring the multitude of what-if questions and returning feelings of guilt, swirling around in his head, he pushed through the last half of the courtyard and found himself back towards the end of the camp, the only building left before him the large barn-looking storage building.

There was no one around but the door was locked tight, a silver padlock and a metal chain binding it closed. That of course was no issue for him thanks to Dr. Wells—no, Eobard Thawne. He hated that man so much, and he hated even more that he’d taught him so much, including phasing through things which was exactly what he was going to do now.

He took one last look around and a deep breath and he let his body vibrate, and slowly he let himself slide through the door until he was inside the storage building. The inside was dark with only sunlight filtering in through two tiny windows on the side of the wall. What little he could see revealed nothing but lawn mowers, spare beds and equipment for the buildings, tools, and other maintenance equipment strewn about.

He pulled his phone out and looked at the blueprints Cisco had sent him, gathering that from what Cisco marked, this was where the basement was supposedly located. So far, though nothing looked like even remotely like a basement entrance.

He walked around a bit, using his phone as a flashlight to illuminate where he was walking but still he saw nothing but tools and equipment.

“I hope you’re right about this basement, Cisco,” he mumbled. He didn’t deal with Mrs. Valenti prying into his fake-relationship with Len just to come up empty-handed. He scanned the storage unit, but nothing stood out, at least until he saw something gleaming on the ground.

A giant tarp obscured much of whatever that gleam was underneath, but he made his way over to it and pushed the tarp off to reveal a large metal hatch door. The door was locked, but unlike the simple padlock on the door to the storage building, this one was electronic and much more advanced, requiring a combination be entered in on a keypad.

Something about that didn’t seem right, and he had a strong feeling that he’d just found what he’d been looking for. The question now was whether it was a good time to look down there.

He jumped when he heard the sound of something move and he quickly hid behind the riding lawn mower beside him when he realized that the sound was the door. Footsteps echoed throughout the building and he knew he wasn’t alone now.

He felt a bead of sweat form on his brow as he paced through all the possible options he had, and every second the footsteps sounded like they were getting closer. He could use his speed to get out and risk alerting people to the Flash being here, or he could hope and that whoever it was didn’t find him.

Both options seemed equally futile.

“You can quit hiding, kid. Your friend Cisco told you me you’d be in here somewhere,” he heard Len call out.

Barry froze for a second, but the relief he felt was instant, which he, again, found ironic considering only moments ago Len was the last person he wanted to see or hear about.

He moved from behind the mower to see an unimpressed looking Len standing in front of him, decked out in his black sweater and pants.

“How did you get in? The door was locked shut,” Barry asked almost immediately regretting that question because, _duh_ , he was a professional thief.

Len pulled a lock pick from his pocket. “Seriously, kid? I learned to pick locks before I learned to tie my shoes. I am curious as to how you got in though.”

Barry shrugged. “I can vibrate my body to phase through things.”

“Ahh. You never cease to surprise me, Scarlet,” Len said inflectionless. Barry watched as Len’s gaze shifted elsewhere and he was positive it was on the grate behind him. “Looks like you found a door.”

Barry nodded. “I’m not sure what’s down there. The lock on it is way more advanced than anything else here.”

Len sauntered past him and examined the hatch while he just watched curiously. While watching Len he was trying hard not to think the fact that they were naked in bed together not but thirty minutes ago. Still the visions and ghostly remembrance of Len’s hands gliding across his body and the feeling of Len inside him overtook his thoughts. It was a brief but welcome distraction from the thoughts of their earlier argument.

“Well this is interesting. A Draycon PX520 lock. A very secure lock that automatically sends an alert anytime someone tries to undo it. Seems like someone really wants to keep whatever is down there locked up tight,” Len commented.

“So you’re saying there’s no way to undo it without alerting someone that we’re in here?” Barry asked.

Len stood up with a half-smirk plastered on his face. “Didn’t say it was impossible, did I? A lock like this just requires… a different tool.”

“Or maybe I could phase through it myself and tell you what I find?” Barry suggested.

Len shrugged nonchalantly. “This is your mission, kid. If that’s what you want to do, knock yourself out. I had no intentions of coming, but your friend Cisco called and seemed adamant I follow you. Seems he thought you’d get yourself into trouble without me.”

To hear that Cisco had contacted Len right after their conversation was shocking to him to say the least, but it also reminded him of the gravity of their situation. Cisco had more to hate about Len than even Barry did, but Cisco put the mission ahead of even himself, and now Barry was starting to feel like an even bigger jerk.

He needed Len’s help. Without him, he wouldn’t have gotten as far as they had now, and he was quickly realizing he wouldn’t be able to get much further without him either.

He took a deep breath and realized what he was going to have to do.

“Look, Len—I think we should—”

“Save it. I know what you’re about to say, and I don’t think it needs a discussion. You made it clear how you felt, so we’ll leave it at that. I’ll stick around to finish this because I’m not a quitter, but that’s it.” The bite to Len’s words was small but noticeable, and Barry realized he’d done more damage than he’d initially thought. “Now, either you do what you need to do and phase through that door, or we leave and regroup later.”

Caught between a rock and hard place, Barry knew that going down there alone was a bad idea, especially in broad daylight. But a big part of him also wanted to get this whole thing over with now to save him from dealing with the awkward tension between him and Len later.

“Let’s just regroup and come up with another plan,” he huffed in defeat.

Len nodded his head slightly, and turned to walk away but once again gave no indication of what he was thinking or feeling, and Barry once again felt like he was back at square one with him.

“Sounds like a plan. Catch you later. Oh and make sure to lock up behind you. Don’t want to let anyone know we were in here.”

Barry watched Len make his exit from the storage unit, and though he wanted to ask where he was going, he knew he wouldn’t get an answer.

The best he could hope for right now was that Len would be in a more amicable mood later on maybe before they go to sleep.

 

********************

 

“Barry and Leonard, you two seem… quite different from this morning. Is everything alright?” Dr. James asked them as they sat at the dinner table together with the rest of their group.

Barry took the opportunity to pile food into his mouth to avoid having to answer the question because the answer was obviously no.

“Just peachy, doc,” Len answered with that calm tone that belied what Barry figured he was truly feeling.

As usual, what Barry had hoped for and what actually happened were two very different things. He’d hoped for an opportunity to talk to Len and maybe somewhat clear the air between them before dinner that evening, but after they had snuck in and out of the storage building, Len had disappeared.

Len had made it clear that if it weren’t for Cisco, he wouldn’t have gone to the storage building which at the very least told Barry that Len was still angry or at the very least indifferent towards him. That was to be expected when he and Len had said some pretty bad things to one another.

So for the last few remaining hours of the afternoon he kept to himself in the room, not seeing heads or tails of Len again until they were seated beside one another at the dinner table, tension radiating off of Len.

Len made no effort to acknowledge him and Barry felt too awkward and uncomfortable to acknowledge Len either. And, to the rest of the group, he was positive it was noticeable if the looks they were getting were any indication.

“Well, Barry, I’m glad to see you’re feeling better. Leonard, I wanted to commend you again for being so attentive to Barry’s needs,” Dr. James complimented, no doubt looking for a way to ease the tension between the two of them.

“Don’t think the sentiment is the same all around. Seems my help isn’t exactly—appreciated.”

Barry looked up at the table and could feel everyone’s questioning and curious glances pinned on him. He didn’t know how to answer because he didn’t know what to say or do. There was no how-to guide for handling an argument your fake boyfriend slash criminal adversary. So, he did the only thing he could think of and kept his head down and didn’t say a thing.

The dinner progressed painstakingly slowly, the only silver lining that Dr. James used that time to focus on some of the other couples who apparently hadn’t exactly done well in the exercises earlier in the day. It seemed the Anderson’s were struggling too, mostly with the fact that they didn’t seem to know how to relate to one another. But even then the couple didn’t seem nearly as tense and frustrated as he and Len were. Mrs. Valenti of all people seemed the most sympathetic to him, throwing a reassuring smile in his direction every once in a while.

“Leonard and Barry, since you two missed most of our morning and afternoon exercises, I didn’t have the chance to mention that your professional massage for winning the yoga challenge will be tonight,” Dr. James reminded.

Crap.

With everything else that had gone on, he’d completely forgotten about their free massage.

“I’ll have to take a raincheck on that. I’m not feeling too well for a couple’s massage tonight,” Len spoke up.  

The table went silent, and Barry felt like his throat was constricting. When he turned up to Dr. James, the therapist seemed perturbed, but in that quiet, hardly noticeable way. He was no stranger to that look, especially when he spent years talking to therapists about the ‘man in yellow’ who had killed his mom.

“Well everyone, I think that’s enough for today. We’ll start a bit later tomorrow in the massage room again. Make sure you all stretch well before tomorrow’s activity,” Dr. James announced. Everyone in the group started to get up and leave and Barry was about to follow suit when Dr. James moved to the other side of the table across from them.  

“I don’t know what happened between you two, but I think we should probably talk it out. I think tomorrow we should have a short session to talk it out.”

“Oh—are you sure? I mean… Len and I, we’re fine,” Barry stammered.

Dr. James didn’t seem the least bit convinced and he knew there was no way out of this.

“Even so, Barry, I think you’d both benefit from having a safe space to discuss whatever it is that’s bothering you two. And don’t be embarrassed. I have these sessions with everyone in the group, and have already had some in fact.”

Barry turned to the side to look at Len whose expression was once again unreadable.

“Whatever you think it is best, doc. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to take a work call to take,” Len said, getting up from the table.

Barry didn’t know what to do so he turned an apologetic smile towards Dr. James and stood up from the table. “See you tomorrow, Dr. James.”

He didn’t dare walk beside Len so he just followed behind him, knowing that to those who saw them, they looked like a couple in pretty bad shape. 

Eventually, they were back in the bedroom and away from prying eyes, but that didn’t ease Barry’s sense of guilt and apprehension at having to have a conversation with Len. Len though didn’t seem in any rush to talk, instead making his way to the bedroom and disrobing down to his white tank top and boxers before returning to the living room and sinking on to the couch. Barry just quietly watched the entire thing while mustering up the courage to say something.

“We should talk about our plan for getting into that basement,” Barry finally managed to say.

“It’s simple. We sneak into the storage building again, crack the lock, and explore the basement. If you’re lucky, we find what you need and we can quit this little charade,” Len answered while making little hand gestures to emphasize his point.  

Barry sighed. It was obvious from Len's tone that he clearly didn’t have a vested interest in talking any more than he had to.

Barry leaned against the wall and folded his arms. “Look, Len. We should at least talk about what happened. At the very least let me say I’m sor—”

“I don’t need your apology. Like I said, you made your feelings on our situation clear, and I can respect that. We finish this little undercover operation of yours and then you and I go back to being the bad guy and the hero.”

“But, Len—”

“Look, Scarlet, that’s nothing else to say. Now we’ve both had an interesting day and we’re going to have an even longer day tomorrow, so I suggest you get some sleep,” Len remarked with a tone that suggested what he said was final.

Barry just huffed and kept his eyes trained on Len who pulled the spare blanket Barry had been using two nights ago on top of himself and shifted into a more comfortable position on the couch.

“You’re not going to sleep in the bed?” Barry asked, almost regretting speaking instantly.

“Not interested. Wouldn’t want to give you the impression that I’m trying to take advantage of you. It’s all yours.”

Len’s words hit him like a knife to the chest and his words from this afternoon came full circle. It was the first time he could unequivocally say that he had messed up. Len’s eyes were closed and he seemed to drifting off to sleep so he knew better to try and say something now to try and fix it so walked back to the bedroom, turning off the light on his way back.

Using his speed, he stripped down to his boxers and a t-shirt and crawled into the bed that was still left in disarray from this afternoon. Pulling the blanket over himself, he kept hoping that the rush of drowsiness would help drown out the guilt and fall asleep.

If he was lucky maybe Len would be in a slightly better mood and could try and convince him to talk it out. But if not, he wasn’t quite sure how he was going to survive these next few days alone with Len.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry. Barry and Len will get back on track next chapter and find themselves in very compromising positions both physically and emotionally next chapter haha. Thanks for reading as always!

**Author's Note:**

> As I was watching Legends of Tomorrow, I realized that there were so little Undercover as a Couple Fics (AKA: one other fic). So I got inspired to write one! As usual I have other fics to write in conjunction with this one, but I have a schedule to manage time for all of them, so I hope to be able to update fairly regularly! As always I appreciate any and all comments and kudos!


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